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ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 



LEADER OF THE GREAT REFORMATION 
OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 



THOMAS W. GRAFTON. 



WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY 



HERBERT L. WILLETT. 



St Louis 
Christian Publishing Company 

1897 




ED 



Inoxonihsvm 

MM1OJI03 JO 






2080 



Copyrighted, 1897, by 

CHRISTIAN PUBLISHING COMPANY 

All Bights Reserved 



/2-3Z&Z4 



XLo tbe (Stent Hrm$ of U>oung people, 

WHO TOGETHER COMPOSE THE UNITED SOCIETY OF CHRISTIAN 

ENDEAVOR, AND WHO, IN THEIR INTER-DENOMINATIONAL 

FELLOWSHIP, ARE EXEMPLIFYING THE PRACTICABILITY 

AND BEAUTY OF THE PLEA FOR CHRISTIAN UNION, 

£bis IDolume te ffnscribeD, 



PREFACE. 



The richest heritage of any people is the lives and mem- 
ories of the good and great who have preceded them. This 
is especially true of those who have helped to the possession 
of new lands, or the discovery of new truths, or the estab- 
lishment of new principles. 

Such a heritage the young people of our Endeavor Socie- 
ties have in the leaders of the religious movement which, 
in the early part of this century, led to the establishment 
of the Christian Church. Though the history of that move- 
ment does not yet span a century, no religious body has a 
richer calendar of saints than we. Many of them may 
have been lacking in the conventional graces of society, and 
in high scholastic attainments; but in the genuineness of 
their sympathies and in their familiarity with God's two 
great books — nature and the Bible — all were, in the highest 
and truest sense, gentlemen and scholars. 

First among these worthies must ever be placed that 
grand man, to whose faith, originality and genius our relig- 
ious movement owes its origin, Alexander Campbell, the 
Sage of Bethany. To bring the story of his life within a 
compass that would enable busy people to become acquaint- 
ed with him, has been the end sought in this volume. 
With a literature so rich in material, this has been no small 
task. The sixty volumes which grew up under the genius of 
Mr. Campbell, including the Christian Baptist and Millen- 
nial Harbinger, are rich in biographical suggestion. In 
addition to these the author is indebted to Dr. Richardson's 
valuable " Memoirs. " All he claims is to have gathered, 
from these sources, the most important events in this great 
life, and to have compressed them within a space that may 
encourage every lover of truth to sit, for a season, at the 
feet of one of its most earnest defenders. 

Rock Island, III., Nov. 25. 1897. 

(j) 



CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Preface v 

Introduction ix 

I. Early Days 17 

II. University Life. ... 30 

III. Emigration to America . . 43 

IV Ministerial Preparation . . 58 

V. Religious Discoveries ... 76 

VI. Trials and Triumphs ... 90 

VII. Christian Baptist .... 106 

VIII. Religious Dissensions . . 118 

IX. The Christian Church . . . 131 

X. The Defender of the Faith . 147 

XI. A Wise Master Builder . . 162 

XII. The Prince of Preachers . 177 

XIII. Travels at Home and Abroad . 188 

XIV. The Bethany Home ... 203 
XV. Closing Labors .... 214 

XVI. His Place in History . . 226 



INTRODUCTION. 



'T'he time has not yet come when Mr. Camp- 
* bell can be fairly measured and assigned 
his true place in Christian history. There are 
those among his admirers who regard him as the 
greatest religious teacher of the century; others, 
animated by the antagonisms of earlier days, or 
not especially acquainted with his work or the 
people he rallied to the platform of Christian 
unity, would deny him any conspicuous place 
among the makers of modern Christian thought. 
Somewhere between these positions the truth 
lies, but we are yet too near the man himself to 
secure a true perspective. It is only fair to say, 
however, that those who knew most of Mr. 
Campbell's life and work, and have the largest 
admiration for him, await with confidence the 
verdict of the future. 

Meantime there is no question that he was a 
true prophet of his time. It is the privilege of 
some men to perceive the greatest needs of the 
Church of Christ in their day, to give happy 
and forceful expression to thoughts that are 
lying unexpressed in the minds of many around 
them, and by vigorous advocacy call the atten- 

(ix) 



x INTRODUCTION 

tion of scattered sections of the church to the 
truth they have discerned. This is the function 
of a true prophet of Christianity. It was the 
work of Mr. Campbell. He did not create the 
idea of Christian unity. Many minds had grap- 
pled with it since the Reformation caused the 
great breach in the Church. The reformers 
themselves felt the dangers of division and 
sought to heal the rents in their forces. Pro- 
testants and Romanists worked at the problem, 
as the correspondence of Leibnitz and Bossuet 
witnesses. The labors of Richard Baxter in 
England, who organized associations for the 
cultivation of unity among Christians, and 
wrote pamphlets to the same end, are repre- 
sentative of what many men in different places 
were seeking to realize. Milton's dream of a 
simpler faith and a more united church dawned 
upon other minds. It is a commonplace of our 
history that other movements in America for 
freedom and apostolic Christianity preceded Mr. 
Campbell's work. He did not create the idea, 
but he gave it the first full expression and 
adjusted it to other questions whose relation to 
it was intimate. 

Mr. Campbell was convinced, both by his own 
observations and the experiences of his father 
in Britain and America, that the greatest hin- 
drance to the progress and success of the church 
was the lack of unity. Power that should have 



INTRODUCTION xi 

been employed in combating sin and bringing 
in larger measure the Kingdom of God, was 
wasted in sectarian strife. But the desired 
unity among the followers of Jesus was not to 
be secured by the mere proclamation of its 
desirability. It must be sought by a return to 
apostolic standards of thought, speech and con- 
duct. It was not an attempt to reproduce the 
faulty and partial life of the churches in Jeru- 
salem, Corinth, Galatia or Rome to which Mr. 
Campbell set himself and rallied his friends. 
It was an appeal to Christ and to apostolic 
standards of teaching and conduct. On such a 
platform it was believed Christians could unite 
in the service of the common Lord. The prin- 
ciples accepted by all believers as essential to 
fellowship with the Savior were regarded suffi- 
cient as a bond of union. Convinced that peace 
could be restored to the divided church only by 
a restoration of the apostolic programme, Mr. 
Campbell labored to secure a larger acquaint- 
ance with the New Testament on the part of all 
who would co-operate in healing the divisions of 
the Church. The New Testament w^as seen to 
be the rule of belief and conduct, and to it, as 
the law and testimony, the appeal was evermore 
made. This will explain the fact that Mr. 
Campbell gave more attention to the subject of 
Apostolic Christianity and its re-establishment 



xii INTRODUCTION 

than lie did to Christian Union. In his plan the 
one was the necessary antecedent of the other. 
While Mr. Campbell exhibited a high degree 
of mental independence, and departed to a 
startling degree from the established religious 
customs of his time, he was a true child of his 
period in his ways of thinking, and the forma- 
tive influences about him in early life are dis- 
tinctly discerned through his entire career. 
Chief among these are to be named the sterling 
characteristics inherited from generations of 
sturdy Scotch and Huguenot ancestors; the 
atmosphere of a Christian home in which the 
highest regard for Divine things was main- 
tained; the supremacy of the philosophy of John 
Locke in the thinking of the time, with its rejec- 
tion of Cartesianism, its appeal to fact, its 
theory of knowledge as the result of sensation, 
thus becoming the foundation of the Scotch 
School of philosophy and the percursor of 
Burkeley and Hume, Reid and Hartley, and 
whose influence is traceable in the Encyclopae- 
dists and Kant; the impress of the Covenant 
Theology, that modification of Calvinism, 
brought from Holland, and widely diffused 
through Scotland after the Secession, with its 
insistence upon a progress of revelation in the 
Bible marked by Covenants; the principles of 
the Independents, represented on different sides 
by Glas, Sandeman, Walker, Hill and the Hal- 



INTRODUCTION xiii 

danes; lastly the divided condition of the 
churches in Scotland and Ireland, where Pres- 
byterianism was broken into a score of frag- 
ments, not to speak of other communions; all 
these forces wrought in Mr. Campbell's making. 
Of some of them he was conscious, and ex- 
pressed his indebtedness, as to Locke. Of 
others he seems to have been unaware, or at 
least not impressed with a sense of obligation. 
Especially is this true of his theological views. 
Yet no man ever made more free and independ- 
ent use of the material at hand. It was this 
singular combination of elements, native and 
acquired, together with a deep earnestness in 
seeking to be led by the Spirit of God, that 
made him distinctively the prophet of his time. 
The place of the Disciples of Christ among 
the religious forces of the time is one of grow- 
ing importance. Much -has been done to widen 
the influence of the propaganda in behalf of 
Christian unity. This sentiment is one of the 
watchwords of the hour, and without claiming 
the entire credit for this condition, the Disci- 
ples may fairly discern one of the causes in their 
labors. But the work is not done. The result 
has not yet been attained, and the plans for 
reaching it are almost as varied as the sections 
of the church. It ought to be in such a time as 
this that the maturing energies of the Disciples 
may be applied with fresh vigor to the problem. 



xiv INTRODUCTION 

The desirability of closer unity among God's 
people is no longer an open question. How can 
it be attained? It is believed that the apostolic 
programme furnishes a sufficient basis for fel- 
lowship, and that in the courteous but persistent 
advocacy of this method of unity the Disciples 
find a sufficient and imperative sanction for 
their message to the world. Only by such advo- 
cacy can they be true, not alone to the memory 
of Mr. Campbell and his associates, but to the 
platform of New Testament Christianity, which 
is of infinitely greater importance. 

The present volume is a contribution to a 
larger knowledge of Mr. Campbell and his 
times. Few have leisure or opportunity to read 
Richardson's two volumes, and, moreover, much 
may now be added to the subject which was not 
then accessible. This book ought to result in a 
largely increased acquaintance with the begin- 
nings of the movement, and help many among 
the Disciples of Christ to vindicate afresh the 
position which they occupy among the religious 
forces of the time. 

Herbert L. Willett. 

Disciples' Divinity House, 
Chicago. 



ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 



ALEXANDER CAMPBELL. 



i. 

EARLY DAYS. 

T^he author of a religious movement which, 
within the space of three-quarters of a cen- 
tury, can claim a million adherents, is deserving 
of the consideration of all thoughtful people. 
When that movement rises, not on the tide of 
popular favor, but in the face of the most bitter 
opposition, the genius that could inspire it is 
doubly deserving of our attention. Such have 
been the trials and triumphs of the Christian 
Church, which, with its vast membership and 
multiplied agencies for the regeneration of the 
world, is to-day a monument to the faith and 
genius of Alexander Campbell, and which 
assures him an exalted place among the world's 
religious leaders. 

The village of Ballymena, nestled among the 
hills of Northern Ireland, furnishes the starting 
point for the life-story I am to tell. Just 
beyond its borders was a humble cottage, sur- 
rounded by a few acres of land, in which, more 
than a hundred years ago, two worthy young 
people, Thomas and Jane Campbell, began life 

(17) 



18 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

together. Both were blessed with a noble ances- 
try, and brought into that home a treasure of 
more value than wealth or title, a deep religious 
purpose and sterling qualities of character 
which shine with splendor wherever found. 

Thomas Campbell had descended from that 
valiant Scotch stock, the Campbells of Argyle, 
which covered itself with glory in the days of 
Scotland's political and religious struggles. 
Some two or three generations prior to his birth, 
his branch of the family had emigrated to North- 
ern Ireland, where, though not distinguished, it 
maintained its integrity, and gave to society 
many valuable members. Jane Corneigle, to 
whom Thomas Campbell was wedded in 1787, 
was of no less worthy descent. Her ancestors 
were Huguenots, who, in those terrible days of 
persecution that followed the revocation of the 
Edict of Nantes, had chosen exile from their 
beloved France rather than surrender their 
faith. After their settlement in Ireland her 
people were the devoted friends of liberal edu- 
cation, establishing and fostering schools, where 
the Bible, along with the common branches, was 
carefully taught. Both, thus endowed by birth, 
were of the stuff suited to the hardships through 
which they were destined afterward to pass. 

At the time of the birth of their first-born, 
Alexander, in 1788, the future offered little 
encouragement to them. Thomas Campbell had 



EARLY DAYS 19 

already dedicated himself to the work of the 
ministry, but, in the interval of preparation for 
that work, he was compelled to devote his ener- 
gies largely to school-teaching, with meager 
compensation, combining with the duties of 
teacher, as opportunity afforded, the work of 
ministering to the spiritual needs of his neigh- 
bors. He was Presbyterian in faith, having at 
an early age identified himself with the Seceders, 
a branch of that church. His mind from youth 
was one of deep religious cast. There had early 
been developed a sincere and earnest love for 
the Scriptures. As the claims of a religious life 
began to present themselves, he passed through 
that intense mental agony which was then 
thought to be indispensable in seeking accept- 
ance with God. When at last his doubts and 
fears were dissipated, it was as if his whole 
nature was flooded with the sunlight of God's 
love. From that moment he felt himself 
wholly called of God, and henceforth dedicated 
to his work, and bent all his energies to the 
training of mind and heart for a life of service 
in the ministry. As was to be expected, the 
home-life of a nature so deeply religious but 
reflected his loyalty and devotion to the Christ. 
It will be seen that the early life of Alexander 
Campbell found its development in an intensely 
religious atmosphere. In the family Christ was 
something more than a name. He was an abid- 



20 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

ing Guest, and his Word was a treasure whose 
aroma filled the home with fragrance. A part 
of the home regime was the daily memorizing 
of the Scriptures by the younger members of 
the family. In this way young Campbell was 
brought up to regard with profound reverence 
the Word of God, the logical sequence of which 
was his great life-work of seeking to restore it 
to its rightful place. 

The exalted ideal of Thomas Campbell is seen 
in his refusal to thrust the family in the way of 
temptation for the sake of gain. While battling 
with adversity, he was offered the position of 
tutor in the family of the Governor-General of 
Ireland, with a large salary and an elegant resi- 
dence; but the offer was promptly declined, lest 
it should endanger the morals of his children by 
placing before them the fascinations of worldly 
pride and fashion. 

When Alexander was about ten years of age, 
the family, after many vicissitudes, was estab- 
lished on a farm near the city of Armagh, in the 
midst of the field of labor to which Thomas 
Campbell had been called as pastor. The region 
is described as one of the most beautiful of Ire- 
land. Its rich farms, its lofty hills, its secluded 
valleys, its sparkling lakes, presented a scene of 
varied and untiring beauty. Here the boyhood 
of Alexander was chiefly spent and the foun- 
dation of his great learning laid. It is to 



EARLY DAYS 21 

be presumed that the father and mother, de- 
voted as they were to the highest interests of 
their children, were his first instructors. But 
with the increasing duties of his pastorate, the 
father found it necessary to make other pro- 
vision for the instruction of his son. Deter- 
mined that he should not lack opportunity for 
gaining an education, he was sent to such 
schools as the vicinity afforded, and later put in 
an academy, then conducted by his uncles, Archi- 
bald and Enos, in the town of Newry, some ten 
miles distant. 

At this period the future reformer manifested 
none of those traits of intellectual superiority 
that afterward distinguished him. His rather 
over-fondness for sports seems to have inter- 
fered seriously with his educational progress. 
He loved the freedom of out-door life better 
than his books. A rod and line had much more 
attraction for him than the daily tasks of the 
school-room. Study became a drudgery, and his 
persistent negligence filled his father with deep 
concern. The one anecdote related of his boy- 
hood illustrates both his own indifference and 
his father's impatience. The French language 
had been added to his other studies, and on a 
warm day he sought the shade of a tree as the 
most suitable place to prepare his lesson in 
" The Adventures of Telemachus." Falling 
asleep and dropping his book in the grass, he 



22 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

was unconscious of the approach of a cow, until 
the animal had seized and actually devoured it. 
Upon reporting the loss, his father not only 
severely punished him for his carelessness, but 
further reprimanded him by telling him that 
"the cow had got more French in her stomach 
than he had in his head," a fact which he was 
not then able to deny. As a last resort, his 
anxious father, " to break him into his books," 
determined to put him to work on the farm. 
He was consequently taken from school and sent 
to the field. The plan at first seemed destined 
to miscarry. The change pleased Alexander. 
He loved the farm. His heart, tender and 
fresh, beat a responsive note to nature, and he 
was for the time satisfied with the calling that 
brought him near to nature's heart. The years 
thus spent in healthful physical labor were, 
however, not misspent. They proved to be no 
small factor in the making of the man, and in 
his equipment for the place he was ultimately to 
occupy as a leader of men; for under the invig- 
orating influence of out-door life he gained 
in health and vigor, laying the foundation of 
that iron constitution that served him so well in 
the unremitting labors of later years. 

There is a critical period in every young life, 
which, safely passed, gives promise of a career 
of usefulness, but which, beset as it is with foes, 
often leads to disaster. At this dividing of the 



EARLY DAYS 23 

ways, Alexander Campbell, a youth of some six- 
teen summers, had now arrived. His future 
hung upon the course chosen. It was with 
anxious, prayerful solicitude that his father 
watched the result, and with justifiable pride 
that he discovered an awakening thirst for 
knowledge in the growing boy. His intellectual 
nature, which he possessed in rich endowment, 
at last began to assert its claims. The books 
which had been thrown aside were taken up 
with renewed interest. A desire for literary dis- 
tinction possessed him, and he confidentially 
declared his purpose to become " one of the best 
scholars of the kingdom." 

The pathway along which he now bent his 
steps was not easy of pursuit. The educational 
advantages of the community in which he lived 
were limited, the family resources meager, and 
a course at the university apparently beyond his 
reach. But in this emergency the resources of 
the father were not wanting. He supplied the 
lack of larger opportunities by personally super- 
intending his son's intellectual development. 
What an encouraging example these two pre- 
sent, father and son in loving companionship, 
courageously surmounting all barriers, that they 
may quaff together the sweet waters of the 
perennial spring of truth ! But for the wisdom 
of the father in this struggle, the world had in 



24 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

all probability been robbed of the splendid 
achievements of the son. 

At this fireside university the traits of mind 
that afterward were so conspicuous in the genius 
of Alexander Campbell began to display them- 
selves. They were intense mental activity, an 
unquenchable thirst for knowledge, and a re- 
markably quick and retentive memory. His 
power to grasp and retain the results of his 
reading has been surpassed by but few men. It 
is related of him at this early period that, as a 
test, he committed to memory sixty lines of 
blank verse in fifty-two minutes, so that he 
could repeat them without missing a word. But 
this remarkable power, which he retained 
through life, was not the mere accident of 
genius. It was the result of the most pains- 
taking effort. To develop this faculty he accus- 
tomed himself to daily memorizing extracts 
from the best authors, and thus, early in youth, 
beside the mental discipline gained, his mind 
became a storehouse of the best thought and 
the most chaste language of English literature. 
As a further aid to memory and thoughtful 
reading, it was his custom to copy in his note- 
book extracts from his reading, passages which 
particularly pleased him. In this way he pro- 
vided that intellectual furnishing which gave 
beauty and power to his uttered thought. 

The process by which he was now being 



EARLY DAYS 25 

trained in scholarly pursuits was necessarily 
slow. Such was the occupation of the father 
that interruptions often occurred. The duty of 
attending to the spiritual needs of the church to 
which he faithfully ministered, besides looking 
after and providing for a large family, left little 
time for this labor of love. And now that the 
family wants might be supplied, it became nec- 
essary for the father to supplement his meager 
salary as pastor by a return to the school-room. 
A suitable location for an academy having been 
found in the village of Rich Hill, two miles dis- 
tant from the parish to which he had for several 
years ministered, he removed his family thither, 
and soon witnessed the growth of a flourishing 
school. All this made heavy demands upon his 
time; but, notwithstanding, he managed to per- 
fect his son in the preliminary English branches, 
and to give him such instruction in Latin and 
Greek as would enable him, should opportunity 
ever present itself, to enter the classes of the 
university. 

That this work might go on, it became neces- 
sary for Alexander to come to his father's relief 
by rendering such assistance as he could in the 
academy. So thorough was his mastery of the 
common branches, that at the age of seventeen 
he proved himself a most competent teacher and 
valuable assistant. But while occupied with the 
daily cares of the school-room, he did not allow 



26 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

himself, for a moment, to swerve from his pur- 
pose of gaining an education. He pursued with 
unflagging energy his own special course of 
studies, still under his father's guidance. As 
the seed-time of life, he felt the importance of 
every moment of sowing, and, therefore, 
availed himself of every accessible source of 
knowledge, as well as every fragment of time. 
While others slept, he communed with the spirit 
of learning. During these busy days he was ac- 
customed to pursue his studies far into the 
night, and usually arose at four in the morning 
to resume them. The work of self-education, 
the only educational privilege he seemed likely 
ever to enjoy, thus became a passion with him. 
But to imagine that the old buoyancy of his 
nature had been vanquished in this passion, is to 
mistake the temper of the youth. Along with 
his love of intellectual pursuits, but always, 
hereafter, in subjection to it, he carried his 
intense fondness for out-door sports. His 
athletic frame made him a favorite among his 
companions in physical contests of the times, 
which to the young people of to-day would seem 
rather strange forms of amusement. He was 
famed for the size of the snow-balls he could 
make and the force with which he hurled them 
in their playful battles. Among the farmers of 
the neighborhood he easily carried off the 
championship in sowing grain, an exercise of 



EARLY DAYS 27 

which he was fond and an art in which he was 
expert. But along with these antiquated amuse- 
ments, he also delighted in the use of rod and 
gun, proving himself an Isaak Walton and 
Nimrod, both in one. It was by these healthful 
diversions that he was able to pursue his ardu- 
ous labors in the school-room and the study, 
with unimpaired physical vigor. 

With the unfolding of mind came the consid- 
eration of those serious problems which always 
present themselves for solution where the Word 
of God is known. From a youth, Alexander 
had known and revered the Scriptures. As we 
have already seen, an important part of the 
family life was its daily study. Its message had 
been brought home to him through the worthy 
example of pious parents. His father, who had 
become his inseparable companion, was " a pat- 
tern of good works," admired and beloved by all 
who knew him. His mother exerted a no less 
molding influence upon his religious character. 
Long after her death, in his declining years, he 
paid this tribute to her memory: 

" She made a nearer approximation to the 
acknowledged beau ideal of a Christian mother 
than any one of her sex with whom I have had 
the pleasure of forming a special acquaintance. 
I can but gratefully add, that to my mother, as 
well as to my father, I am indebted for having 
memorized in early life almost all the writings 



28 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

of King Solomon, his Proverbs, his Ecclesiastes, 
and many of the Psalms of his father David. 
They have not only been written on the tablet of 
my memory, but incorporated with my modes of 
thinking and speaking." x 

In time he began to seriously meditate upon 
his own religious obligations. As his convictions 
deepened he became greatly concerned about his 
own salvation. Of his religious conflicts and 
triumphs at this period, he, many years after- 
ward, gave the following account: 

" From the time that I could read the Scrip- 
tures, I became convinced that Jesus was the 
Son of God. I was also fully persuaded that I 
was a sinner and must obtain pardon through 
the merits of Christ or be lost forever. This 
caused me great distress of soul, and I had much 
exercise of mind under the awakenings of a 
guilty conscience. Finally, after many strag- 
glings, I was enabled to put my trust in the 
Saviour and to feel my reliance on him as the 
only Saviour of sinners. From the moment I 
was able to feel this reliance on the Lord Jesus 
Christ, I obtained and enjoyed peace of mind. 
It never entered into my head to investigate the 
subject of baptism or the doctrines of the 
creed." 2 

With Alexander Campbell, this beginning of 
Christ's service was upon a religious basis that 

l Life of Thomas Campbell. 2 Memoirs, Vol. 1, p. 49. 



EARLY DAYS 29 

broadened and deepened with each increasing 
year, until it became the absorbing passion of 
his life, the flame that shot up illuminating his 
whole nature, the theme that never ceased to 
inspire his tongue and pen, and that to the end 
of his life consumed all his thought and energy. 
Having accepted Christ, he accepted him for 
service, and immediately united with the Presby- 
terian Church, to which his father ministered, 
that he might aid in its triumphs and contribute 
to his Master's praise. 



II. 

UNIVERSITY LIFE. 

\\ 7e come now to a series of circumstances 
that changed the whole current of Alex- 
ander Campbell's life, and made possible his 
dream of classic attainments. Misfortune after 
misfortune overtook his father's family, which, 
in the end, proved to be the leadings of Provi- 
dence towards a complete preparation for the 
great work that was to consume his energies. 

In the midst of the increasing duties of church 
and school at Rich Hill, the father's health gave 
way, threatening a termination of his career of 
usefulness. As a last resort, his physicians 
recommended a sea-voyage, in consequence of 
which his mind turned towards the new world. 
But from such a step he naturally shrank. He 
was a man of warm nature and strong attach- 
ments, and the thought of severing old ties, and 
especially of separation for a time from his fam- 
ily, to whose welfare he was devoted, was painful 
to him, indeed. At this point, Alexander helped 
his father to a decision by declaring his own 
intention of emigrating to America as soon as 
lie had attained his majority, and by further 

(30) 



UNIVERSITY LIFE 31 

assuring him of his readiness to continue the 
school and look after the welfare of the family 
during his absence. So, after much prayerful 
consideration, and many misgivings, it was 
finally decided that Thomas Campbell should 
immediately embark upon the voyage across the 
Atlantic, and that as soon as a suitable location 
had been found in the new world, the other 
members of the family should follow. On this 
errand he started out, leaving his native land in 
the early spring of 1807. After a voyage, at 
that time reckoned as a remarkably quick one, 
of thirty-five days, he landed in Philadelphia, 
and immediately proceeded to Western Penn- 
sylvania, whither several of his old neighbors 
had preceded him. Here he met with a hearty 
welcome, and found the conditions for a time 
favorable for the reception of truths he long 
had cherished as indispensable to the ultimate 
triumph of Christianity. 

In the meantime, the cares and support of 
the large family fell upon the shoulders of Alex- 
ander, who, though but an inexperienced youth 
of nineteen, assumed the new responsibilities 
with the wisdom and discretion of one of 
maturer years. Among other duties which his 
father's departure placed upon him was the 
management of the Academy which he assumed 
until the close of the term. As months wore on 
and no arrangement had as yet been made for 



32 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

the removal of the family, Alexander, anxious 
to improve his time, accepted the position of 
assistant in the school conducted by his uncle 
Archibald, at Newry, some miles distant from 
his home village. While thus engaged, word 
came from his father, bringing assurance that a 
new home had been provided, and urging the 
family to make immediate preparation for the 
voyage. This was in March, 1808. But before 
the final preparation was completed misfortune 
again overtook the Campbells. The community 
was visited by a scourge of small-pox, which 
invaded the Campbell home and delayed their 
departure until autumn. When all were con- 
valescent, another attempt was made to join the 
father, which at first promised to be successful. 
The family were permitted to embark on one of 
the slow sailing vessels of that time, for a long- 
voyage, with a promised reunion, in the end, in a 
happy home in the new world. 

But here another calamity befell them. They 
were scarcely out of the harbor of Lough Foyle, 
before a terrible gale swept the vessel in which 
they had sailed on to the rocky coast of Western 
Scotland. After three days of alarm and uncer- 
tainty, they were stranded upon a hidden rock, 
and left to the mercy of wind and wave. For 
hours the fortune of the ship was imperiled, no 
one knowing at what moment the vessel might 
go down. Signals of distress were given in vain, 



UNIVERSITY LIFE 33 

and all were in momentary expectation of death. 

It was in the intense anguish of this awful 
hour that the future of Alexander Campbell was 
forged. Having done what he could for the 
safety and comfort of the family, he sat on the 
stump of a broken mast and abandoned himself 
to reflection. In the near prospect of death he 
awoke to an appreciation of the meaning and 
mission of earthly existence, and to the folly of 
earthly aim and ambition. Life came to him 
with new meaning, and its true object appeared 
as he had never before conceived it. Only one 
motive seemed worthy of human effort, and that 
the salvation and everlasting happiness of man- 
kind. It was then that he formed the resolu- 
tion that, if saved from the threatening peril, he 
would give himself wholly to God and his ser- 
vice, and spend his entire life as a minister of 
the Word. While engaged in these solemn 
reflections, relief was unexpectedly brought to 
the distressed vessel. The inhabitants of a vil- 
lage on the neighboring shore were at last made 
aware of its peril, and by their heroic efforts 
rescued the entire company of the ill-fated ship, 
and gave them hospitable reception until pro- 
vision could be made for the continuance of 
the voyage. 

This disaster, besides leading to the decision 
that secured to the world the invaluable services 
of Alexander Campbell as a preacher of the 

3 



34 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

Gospel, contributed in another way to the effi- 
ciency of his labors. After the rescue from 
shipwreck, and before the effects of the family 
could be put in readiness for a renewal of the 
voyage, the season had so far advanced as to 
make it impracticable to brave the dangers of the 
winter's storms. So it was decided to pass the 
winter in Scotland. This disappointment, keen 
as it was to the family of pilgrims, was an 
important factor in Alexander's preparation for 
the work to which he had recently dedicated his 
life. It needed the touch of a trained mind to 
perform the task for which Providence was fash- 
ioning him. So, this seeming calamity was now 
to prove a blessing in opening up the way to the 
long-deferred university studies, and an impor- 
tant event in the train of circumstances which 
contributed to his equipment for the work of 
the ministry. 

As the father had seen university life at Glas- 
gow, Alexander determined to spend the next 
few months within the shadow of the same ven- 
erable institution. So the family at once moved 
to Glasgow, and were soon settled within reach 
of the university. 

Here Alexander, with his unquenchable thirst 
for knowledge, bent all the energies of his great 
mind in the mastery of such studies as would 
best fit him to preach the Word of Life. His 
student life, though of short duration, was one 



UNIVERSITY LIFE 35 

of intense mental activity. The habits of indus- 
try and early rising formed in youth now served 
him to good purpose. It was his custom to be- 
gin his work at four o'clock, and not to lay aside 
his books until ten at night. By an economical 
use of time, he was enabled, not only to keep in 
the front rank of his classes, but to do a vast 
amount of general reading. The list of books 
read during his one winter in Grlasgow, of which 
he kept a memorandum, and from which he 
made copious extracts in his commonplace 
book, included poetry, ethics, natural history, 
philosophy, theology, in fact, seemed to cover 
the whole range of moral and philosophical 
investigation. Such was his capacity for work, 
that in addition to his studies he managed to 
largely defray his expenses by teaching private 
classes in Latin, grammar and arithmetic. 

Another marked characteristic of his student 
life was his punctuality. He was never late at 
class. At every roll call he was on hand to 
respond, as the custom then was, with ad sum. 
It is related that some of the students, observing 
his habit, formed a plot to prevent him from 
entering the class-room until after the roll was 
called. Rushing upon him at the ringing of the 
bell, they seized him and attempted to hold him 
back until his name was passed. But, antici- 
pating their purpose, with almost herculean 
strength, he shook them off, rushed up the col- 



36 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

lege steps, and entered the class-room door just 
as his name was called. 

While engaged in his studies at Glasgow, 
Alexander was brought under religious influ- 
ences that were ultimately to change the whole 
cast of his theology, and which proved the final 
stage in the preparation of the young man for 
his work. 

At a much earlier period his mind was awak- 
ened to some of the evils of sectarianism. One 
of the first subjects that attracted his attention 
after his conversion, was the history of the 
church. His mind, as he read, was filled with 
wonder at the strange fortunes of Christianity; 
and what surprised him most of all, was the 
numerous divisions into which religious society 
had broken. From the beginning he had been a 
keen observer of men and things, and that 
power he now used in the study of denomina- 
tionalism. The first to claim his attention and 
stir within him a feeling of abhorrence, was the 
Church of Rome with its superstitions, its cere- 
monials, its spiritual despotisms. That feeling 
he continued to cherish through life, regarding 
the Papacy as the bitterest foe of Gospel tri- 
umph. But when he turned from the dark 
chapter of Roman corruption and tyranny to the 
study of Protestantism, the spectacle was far 
from inviting. Instead of presenting a united 
front to its dangerous foe, it was rent into help- 



UNIVERSITY LIFE 37 

less fragments. Party-spirit reigned supreme. 
Denominations, almost without number, had 
been built on the most trivial differences. Even 
the Presbyterian Church, to one branch of which 
he belonged, had separated into numerous divi- 
sions, — National Church, Seceders, Burghers, 
Anti-Burghers, Old-Lights, New-Lights, etc., — 
thus checking the progress of truth and filling 
the religious world with confusion. All this, 
even at an early stage of his religious develop- 
ment, he regarded with the greatest antipathy, a 
feeling which was shared by his pious father. 

It was, however, the cherished desire of 
Thomas Campbell that his son should become a 
minister in the branch of the Seceder Church to 
which he belonged. And as yet Alexander had 
no thought of pursuing any other course. 
Brought up in the most rigid Calvinistic school, 
it was no easy task to abandon all that he had 
learned, for what he ultimately came to believe 
to be the teaching of the Word of God. So, 
while pained at the bitterness of the religious 
strife about him, he had entered the Univer- 
sity of Glasgow with no other purpose than the 
newly-formed one of preparing himself for the 
ministry of the Presbyterian Church. But the 
religious atmosphere of Glasgow began at once 
to exert a modifying influence upon his views, 
and was destined to work an entire revolution in 
his convictions and feelings with respect to exist- 



38 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

ing denominations. In after years, in explain- 
ing his course, he declared that he had "imbibed 
disgust at the popular schemes, chiefly while a 
student at Glasgow." 

Among the circumstances which contributed 
to this change was his meeting with Greville 
Ewing, pastor of an Independent Church in 
Glasgow, to whom he brought a letter of intro- 
duction. This meeting was a fortunate one for 
the young student. An acquaintance sprang up 
between them which ripened into intimacy, and 
which brought Alexander into touch with a 
group of earnest men, who were at that time 
making themselves felt as a religious power, not 
only in Glasgow, but throughout Scotland. Tak- 
ing a deep interest in young Campbell, Mr. 
Ewing often invited him to tea at his home. On 
these pleasant occasions he frequently met Rob- 
ert and James Haldane, two brothers of wealth 
and influence, who were devoting their fortunes 
to the establishment of a better religious condi- 
tion in Scotland. 

In their zeal for the revival of the Lord's 
work, these brothers began to search the Word 
of God for a remedy for the religious deadness 
of the times. They soon discovered a wide dis- 
crepancy between the religious practices of the 
churches of their acquaintance and that author- 
ized by the Scriptures. Believing this to be the 
chief cause of religious dearth, they became the 



UNIVERSITY LIFE 39 

heralds of a return to the Gospel requirements. 
The deep earnestness of their purpose is seen in 
the surrender which they made of their worldly 
ambition and fortune. The elder, Robert, arose 
from the study of his Bible declaring, " Chris- 
tianity is everything or nothing. If it be true, it 
warrants and commands every sacrifice to pro- 
mote its influence." From that time he, to- 
gether with his brother, became the leader of a 
movement to reform the church and quicken a 
new religious interest in society. As evidence of 
acceptance with God, they preached the neces- 
sity of faith in his Son, rather than dependence 
on emotions, which men were taught to regard 
as assurances of salvation. Everywhere this 
movement, which for a time spread rapidly, was 
characterized by renewed devotion to the Script- 
ures; and many changes were made from exist- 
ing practices in order to bring their obedience 
into closer conformity to the New Testament 
model. For example, while the Scottish Church 
celebrated the Lord's Supper only twice a year, 
Mr. Ewing was the first to introduce the custom 
of celebrating it every Lord's day, as more in 
harmony with the Scriptures. Later still, this 
movement led its adherents to abandon infant 
baptism as unscriptural, and finally to submit to 
immersion as the only authorized form of bap- 
tism. 
While Alexander was in the midst of his stud- 



40 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

ies, this agitation was at its height; and his 
warm friendship for its chief promoters caused 
him the more earnestly to investigate the truth 
of their claims. Cherishing as he did the feel- 
ing of religious unrest, he listened the more 
readily to men, who, like himself, were longing 
for some better way than the old beaten paths of 
tradition. Though not as yet accepting their 
peculiar views, a profound impression was made 
upon his mind, and the defense of the principles 
which they advocated, in a modified form, was 
destined to become the ruling passion of his life 
and ministry. 

At last his doubts led him to question his right 
to continue in the fellowship of the Seceder 
Church. The crucial hour came at the semi- 
annual communion service, near the close of his 
sojourn in Glasgow. It was the custom to sup- 
ply all who, according to the rules of the church, 
were entitled to a place at the Lord's Supper, 
with a metallic token, thus shutting out those 
deemed unworthy of this solemn privilege. 
Though filled with conscientious misgivings 
about sanctioning a religious system which he 
no longer approved, he finally decided to apply 
for a token. As he had no letter of recommend- 
ation from his home church in Ireland, it was 
necessary for him to pass an examination on the 
previous Saturday before the elders. This he 
did to the satisfaction of all. But when the 



UNIVERSITY LIFE 41 

hour for the celebration of the Lord's Supper 
arrived, his scruples overcame him, and instead 
of taking his place among the communicants, he 
cast his token into the plate that was passed 
around, and declined to partake with the rest. 
The ring of that token, as it fell from his hands, 
like the ring of Martin Luther's hammer on the 
door of the Wittenberg cathedral, announced 
his renunciation of the old church ties, and 
marks the moment at which he forever ceased to 
recognize the claims or authority of a human 
creed to bind upon men the conditions of their 
acceptance with God. Henceforth, he resolved, 
with the help of God, to stand for the defense 
of " the faith which was once delivered unto the 
saints." 

While this evolution was going on in the heart 
of Alexander Campbell, the university session 
closed, and with it his college career. Though 
his course at the university was a short one, cov- 
ering less than a year, he left it with a well- 
stored mind, and with powers trained for that 
keen logical discrimination which in later years 
contributed to his fame as a reasoner and 
debater. 

Spring was now well advanced, but as there 
was no prospect of obtaining a suitable vessel 
for America for some time, he accepted the 
position of tutor to the young people of a num- 
ber of families, who were spending the summer 



42 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

at a watering-place near Glasgow. Here, " freed 
from the routine and confinement of the college 
course, he spent some time very delightfully, in 
the midst of a highly cultivated and refined 
society," regretting only that the social and 
other duties of his position left him little time 
for reading and study. 



III. 

EMIGRATION TO AMERICA. 

HPwo years and more had passed since the 
departure of Thomas Campbell for Ameri- 
ca, when the other members of the family were, 
on August 3, 1809, at last permitted to embark 
on the voyage which was to bring them together. 
We have seen how those years were spent by 
Alexander in diligent preparation for his future 
life-work. Leaving him to pursue the long and 
trying ocean voyage, let us see what the father 
had been doing in that time. 

While Alexander Campbell's religious convic- 
tions were being remodeled by the influences at 
work at Glasgow, events were shaping them- 
selves, under his father's ministry, for the exer- 
cise of his great gifts. New ideas demanded 
new soil. The fixed and conservative conditions 
of old-world society were inhospitable to new 
truths. The movement of the Haldanes and 
Ewings, which, as we have seen, led Alexander 
into new ways of thinking, ultimately failed of 
results, save as it imparted vitality to the exist- 
ing religious order. 

A new field awaited this fearless young cham- 

(43) 



44 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

pion of truth across the sea. Amidst the unset- 
tled social conditions of America a soil was 
being prepared for the planting. Thomas Camp- 
bell, on his arrival in Western Pennsylvania in 
1807, at once found a promising field of labor 
among the hardy pioneers who had preceded 
him, and was soon recognized as a man of extra- 
ordinary power of heart and mind. But he was 
not long in discovering that, though he breathed 
the air of political freedom, the old spirit of 
religious intolerance and sectarian bigotry from 
which he fled, prevailed even here. He was 
pained to find the party spirit of Christian 
society even more hostile and bitter than it had 
been in the neighborhood of his early ministry. 
In his zeal for Christian triumph he, felt it to be 
his mission to attempt the correction of this dis- 
order by infusing into the church to which he 
now ministered his own broad spirit of philan- 
thropy and Christian fellowship. 

Notwithstanding the sparsely settled condition 
of Western Pennsylvania at that time, Thomas 
Campbell found the representatives of various 
religious bodies striving to keep up their sepa- 
rate organizations, each drawing the lines of fel- 
lowship closely about them, shutting out from 
the service and communion of Christ all who 
were not able to pronounce their party shib- 
boleths. He was especially grieved to find that 
this was true of his own Presbyterian brethren. 



EMIGRATION TO AMERICA 45 

The old contention between Burgher and Anti- 
Burgher, even on soil where the cause of their 
contention was removed, 1 continued to engender 
bitterness, each party denying to the other the 
ordinary privileges of Christian society. Other 
religious parties were not more charitable. In 
this way many an isolated family in the newly 
and thinly settled country, though deeply earn- 
est in their Christian devotion, were deprived of 
Christian fellowship and even of the precious 
privilege of remembering their Lord's death in 
his memorial supper. 

So generous were his own Christian sympa- 
thies, that Thomas Campbell determined to do 
what he could to remedy these evils, and bring 
what consolation was in his power to the lonely 
pioneers, who felt their greatest sacrifice to be 
the loss of religious privileges which had been 
theirs in the old home-church elsewhere. 

An opportunity soon presented itself for a 
practical application of his cherished views on 
the unity of Christ's followers. He was sent to 
minister to a few scattered brethren who were 
living some distance up the Alleghany, and to 
hold among them a communion service. Drawn 
together by his preaching were several families 
who had been members of other branches of 



lTbis division arose over the question whether certain 
oaths required by the burgesses of towns in Scotland were 
not unlawful, those favoring the oath being called Burgh- 
ers, the opposing party Anti-Burghers. 



46 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

the Presbyterian Church. His great heart was 
aroused with sympathy for these who were " as 
sheep without a shepherd." Many of them had 
not enjoyed the privilege of the Lord's Supper 
for a long time. In his preparation sermon he 
lamented the existing divisions of the church, 
and, feeling it his duty to exercise as broad a 
charity as he preached, he closed by inviting all 
his pious hearers who were so disposed, irre- 
spective of party differences, to join in the 
enjoyment of the communion season near at 
hand. For this act of liberality Mr. Campbell 
was speedily called to account. A young minis- 
ter who had witnessed his unprecedented pro- 
cedure, hastened to prefer charges against him 
at the next meeting of the Presbytery, on the 
ground that he had failed to adhere to the 
standards and usages of the church. After an 
investigation, which called from him a most 
earnest plea in behalf of Christian liberty and 
fraternity, he was found deserving of censure. 
In vain did Mr. Campbell protest against the 
treatment he had received at the hands of his 
brethren. In vain did he appeal from Presby- 
tery to Synod. Party spirit was unyielding. He 
had expressed sentiments, it insisted, which 
were " very different from sentiments held and 
professed by the church." This, it held, was an 
altogether sufficient ground of censure. From 
that time many of his fellow ministers became 



EMIGRATION TO AMERICA 47 

inimical to him, and were disposed to inflict on 
him at every opportunity their petty persecu- 
tions. Speaking to his son afterward of these 
trials, and of the jealousy and animosity that 
were now continually manifested toward him, he 
expressed it as his sincere conviction that 
" nothing but the law of the land had kept his 
head upon his shoulders." 

At first Thomas Campbell, moved by a sense 
of loyalty to the church, submitted to the decis- 
ion of his brethren, though insisting that his 
submission must not be regarded as a change of 
sentiment on his part, but merely an act of 
deference. After this concession he hoped that 
he would be permitted to continue his labors in 
peace. But, much to his regret, the hostility of 
his opponents continued. Misrepresentation, 
calumny, anything that would detract from his 
influence, were employed against him. Spies 
were employed to attend his meetings, that, if 
possible, they might find fresh ground of accu- 
sation in his utterances. At last, worn out with 
these efforts, and having satisfied himself that 
corruption, bigotry and tyranny were inherent 
in existing clerical organizations, he decided to 
sever his connection with the [ religious body to 
which he had given life-long support, renouncing 
the authority of the Presbytery and Synod, and 
announcing his abandonment of all these organ- 
izations. 



48 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

By a strange coincident, not long after this 
withdrawal of Thomas Campbell from the fel- 
lowship of the Seceder Church in Western Penn- 
sylvania, his son, Alexander, without knowledge 
of his father's course, read himself out of the 
Presbyterian Church at Glasgow, by casting his 
metallic token in the plate, refusing by this act 
to sanction a system which he felt to be antag- 
onistic to the spirit of Christ's prayer for the 
unity of his followers. Thus father and son, 
though separated by thousands of miles, had 
apparently acted in spiritual unison, and now 
found themselves in the anomalous attitude of 
servants of Christ without a church in which to 
serve him. But in withdrawing from the Seced- 
ers, it was no more a part of Thomas Campbell's 
plan to cease preaching the Word, than it was 
that of his son to abandon the work to which he 
had recently dedicated his life. 

These painful experiences of Thomas Camp- 
bell soon led to important consequences. By his 
forced withdrawal from the Presbytery of the 
Seceders, he found himself without church affil- 
iations. But that did not prevent him from 
continuing to preach Christ, or from seeking the 
extension of his kingdom. It only quickened 
his zeal in the cause that had always been near 
his heart, the union of Christ's followers in the 
bonds of a great fellowship and the end of the 



EMIGRATION TO AMEBICA 49 

unseemly strife that had caused him constant 
pain. 

He at once called together a company of 
friends, who, through his great personal influ- 
ence, had become devotedly attached to him, and 
continued to preach to them the Word of Life. 
As the doors of the churches in which he for- 
merly ministered were now closed against him, 
he was compelled to accept such accommoda- 
tions as presented themselves. When the 
weather permitted he would gather his audi- 
ences beneath the shelter of a grove; but gener- 
ally the houses of his old Irish neighbors were 
selected as the meeting-place of those who were 
drawn together by the force of his plea for 
Christian liberality and Christian union. In 
these labors it was no part of his plan to organ- 
ize a separate religious party. Such parties were 
already too numerous. At first he seems to have 
had no definite plan of action. He had simply 
determined to use his strength in such ways as 
Providence should open to him, in putting an 
end to partyism, by inducing the different de- 
nominations to unite together on the Bible. In 
this purpose many of his neighbors heartily 
sympathized with him, though as yet shrinking 
from the conclusions to which they were being 
irresistibly driven. 

At last the times seemed ripe for some for- 
ward movement. Thomas Campbell proposed a 

4 



50 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

special meeting, in which some formal state- 
ment of the principles he had been advocating 
might be made, and the movement given a wider 
consideration. A day was consequently named, 
and at the appointed time a large company as- 
sembled in an old farm-house in the neighbor- 
hood. The company was composed of thought- 
ful men, deeply conscious of the importance of 
the occasion. They did not bear credentials of 
great religious establishments to legislate for the 
church, or to invent tests of orthodoxy. And 
yet it may be doubted whether our country has 
witnessed a more important religious gathering. 
They were plain, hard-working pioneers, but 
they were men of faith, whose hearts were 
pained at the divided state of the church. 
Though belonging to different religious parties, 
they had met to seek a pathway to closer fellow- 
ship. 

A feeling of deep solemnity pervaded the en- 
tire assembly, when, at length, Thomas Camp- 
bell arose to address them. The theme of the 
occasion had grown to be the burden of his 
heart. It was, therefore, with unusual force 
that he dwelt upon the manifold evils of a 
divided Christendom, and claimed for the Bible 
the right of determining the basis of Christian 
union. He closed this remarkable address with 
that famous declaration, which has since become 
the watchword of the Disciples of Christ: 



EMIGRATION TO AMERICA 51 

*' Where the Scriptures speak , we speak; where 
the Scriptures are silent, ice are silent ." 

It is said that upon the declaration of this 
principle a solemn silence followed. Then a 
Scotch Seceder, Andrew Munro, arose and said: 
" If we adopt that as a basis, then there is an 
end of infant baptism." Another became so 
affected by the consequences involved, that he 
burst into tears, after uttering a protest, and 
left the house. All felt that they had reached 
a crisis in their religious history. The assembly 
dispersed without any decisive action, but it had 
witnessed the birth-hour of an important move- 
ment. From this moment must be dated the 
''formal and actual commencement of the re- 
formation," which has since been carried for- 
ward with so large a measure of success. 

This important meeting was followed by an- 
other, on August 17, 1809, at which an organiza- 
tion was formed for the purpose of more effect- 
ually carrying out the principles to which its 
members had now become devoted. They called 
themselves ''The Christian Association of Wash- 
ington," and selected a committee of twenty- 
one to confer together with reference to some 
definite plan of action. To Thomas Campbell 
was intrusted the work of drawing up articles of 
agreement. These he was able to present at a 
meeting of his brethren, Sept. 7, under the title 
of "A Declaration and Address." This docu- 



52 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

ment bears so important a relation to the work 
inaugurated by Thomas Campbell and his illus- 
trious son, that it deserves careful study. 
Omitting the greater portion of the preamble, 
the Declaration, submitted for the approval of 
those pioneer reformers, was as follows: 

" Our desire for ourselves and our brethren 
would be, that, rejecting human opinions and 
the inventions of men as of any authority, or as 
having any place in the church of God, we 
might forever cease from further contentions 
about such things; returning to and holding fast 
by the original standard; taking the Divine 
Word alone for 'our rule ; the Holy Spirit for 
our teacher and guide, to lead us into all truth; 
and Christ alone, as exhibited in the word, for 
our salvation; that by so doing, we may be at 
peace among ourselves, follow] peace with all 
men, and holiness, without which no man shall 
see the Lord. Impressed with these sentiments 
we have resolved as follows : 

"1. That we form ourselves into a religious 
association under the denomination of the Chris- 
tian Association of Washington, for the sole 
purpose of promoting simple evangelical Chris- 
tianity, free from all mixture of human opinions 
and inventions of men. 

" 2. That each member, according to ability, 
cheerfully and liberally subscribe a certain 
specified sum to be paid half-yearly, for the pur- 



EMIGRATION TO AMERICA 53 

pose of raising a fund to support a pure Gospel 
ministry, that shall reduce to practice that whole 
form of doctrine, worship, discipline and gov- 
ernment, expressly revealed and enjoined in the 
Word of God ; and also for supplying the poor 
with the Holy Scriptures. 

" 3. That this society considers it a duty and 
shall use all proper means in its power, to en- 
courage the formation of similar associations; 
and shall for this purpose hold itself in readi- 
ness, upon application, to correspond with, and 
render all possible assistance to, such as may 
desire to associate for the same desirable and 
important purposes. 

"4. That this society by no means considers 
itself a church, nor does at all assume to itself 
the powers peculiar to such a society; nor do 
the members, as such, consider themselves as 
standing connected in that relation, nor as at all 
associated for the peculiar purposes of church 
association, but merely as voluntary advocates 
for church reformation; and as possessing the 
powers common to all individuals, who may 
please to associate in a peaceable, orderly man- 
ner, for any lawful purpose, namely, the dis- 
posal of their time, counsel and property, as 
they may see cause. 

" 5. That this society, formed for the sole 
purpose of promoting simple, evangelical Chris- 
tianity, shall, to the utmost of its power, coun- 



54 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

tenance and support such ministers, and such 
only, as exhibit a manifest conformity to the orig- 
inal standard in conversation and doctrine, in zeal 
and diligence ; only such as reduce to practice 
that simple, original form of Christianity, ex- 
pressly exhibited upon the sacred page; without 
attempting to inculcate anything of human 
authority, of private opinion, or inventions of 
men, as having any place in the constitution, 
faith, or worship of the Christian Church, or 
any thing as of Christian faith or duty, for 
which there can not be expressly produced a 
* Thus saith the Lord,' either in express terms, 
or by approved precedent." 1 

Other resolutions, regulating the organization 
and fixing the time of the association meetings 
were added. This declaration was followed by 
a lengthy address in which were more fully stated 
and developed the principles of the movement, 
the whole, when put in type, filling fifty-four 
closely printed pages. This important docu- 
ment was at once adopted as the constitution of 
the association, and became the Magna Charta 
of the new religious movement now in its in- 
fancy. When we take into consideration the 
slavish subjection to customs and traditions 
which characterized the times, this is, in many 
respects, one of the most remarkable unin- 

l Memoirs, Vol. 1, p. 243. 



EMIGRATION TO AMERICA 55 

spired statements that religious history has 
produced. 

While these events, of deep religious impor- 
tance, were transpiring in Western Pennsyl- 
vania, word was brought Thomas Campbell that 
his family had landed in New York. Putting a 
copy of the newly-adopted address in his pocket, 
he hastened overland to meet them in their tedi- 
ous journey by wagon across the country. It 
was his deep concern that his son be made 
acquainted with, and share in, the work that 
now engaged his attention; but he was some- 
what anxious lest his new attitude should dis- 
turb the perfect sympathy which had hitherto 
characterized their relationship. 

In the meantime, Alexander, as he pursued his 
slow journey over the mountains, most of the 
way on foot, was not a little disturbed at the 
possible consequences of the meeting. He had 
not had the courage to write his father of his 
withdrawal from the old church, and now feared 
lest his changed course would bring him pain. 
In this attitude of mind the meeting between 
father and family occurred on the highway, some 
three or four days' journey from the new home. 
It was natural that, after the first fond greet- 
ings, two such spirits as Thomas Campbell and 
his son would find opportunity to consider 
those weightier matters which pertained to 
their spiritual welfare. Happy was the surprise 



56 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

of both, when each learned that the other no 
longer adhered to the old religious party in 
which they had been reared. Alexander, who 
was ever conscious of the guiding hand of a 
higher Power, could not but admire the ways of 
Providence, which had, through bitter experi- 
ences, delivered each from the shackles of creed, 
so that instead of painful differences, they found 
themselves in perfect sympathy and accord. 

It is fitting in this connection, after having 
observed the inauguration of the movement 
toward Christian union in Western Pennsylvania, 
to note, briefly, other conditions which greeted 
Alexander Campbell on his arrival in America, 
and contributed to the f ruitf ulness of the soil he 
Was to cultivate. 

The opening years of the century witnessed a 
great revival, which, notwithstanding the hin- 
drances presented by sectarian bitterness, swept 
over the entire country. The country had sud- 
denly awakened from the deadening influence of 
skepticism which followed the French Revolu- 
tion, and men were everywhere seeking for the 
old faith, which, in their mad delusion, they had 
abandoned. In this frame of mind they were 
ready to investigate whatever promised to bring 
them into closer fellowship with God. About 
the same time the Total Abstinence Society be- 
gan its work, greatly adding to the moral power 
of the church, by cleansing it of the blighting 



EMIGRATION TO AMERICA 57 

curse of drunkenness, and laying the foundation 
of an era of temperance reform, which has since 
proved the most useful handmaiden of the 
church in the work of human redemption. Dur- 
ing the very month that Alexander Campbell 
landed at New York, four young men of 
Williams and Andover met together to dedicate 
themselves to the work of foreign missions, in- 
augurating the new missionary era, and becom- 
ing the forerunners of an army of Christian 
heroes, who have since planted the cross of 
Christ in every pagan land. 

On this new and rising wave of religious feel- 
ing came this young prophet of God, commis- 
sioned to speak burning words against the bitter 
hatred of sectarianism, and to call men's atten- 
tion to the old landmarks which had been hid- 
den beneath the theological rubbish of centuries. 
The field was ripe, and the laborer, equal to the 
task of the reaping, was at hand. 



IV. 

MINISTERIAL PREPARATION. 

T^homas Campbell had provided a home, such 
as the newly-settled country afforded, in 
the village of Washington, where the family 
circle was now happily reunited. Here a new 
world opened before the vision of Alexander. 
Western Pennsylvania was at that time the 
West, and its life and society were fashioned 
largely after the type of its wild and unculti- 
vated surroundings; for those sturdy pioneers 
had little time or disposition to consider or cul- 
tivate the amenities of life. The study of these 
new conditions afforded for his inquisitive mind 
an agreeable occupation, and the spirit of liberty 
which was manifest on every hand accorded 
with his own independence of character. 

These observations and studies were, however, 
not allowed to interfere with the more serious 
work of completing his preparation for the min- 
istry. His studies, thus far, had been of those 
subjects which were intended to contribute to 
his mental discipline, without special reference 
to his life work. He had known the Scriptures 
from his youth, but he felt the need of a more 

thorough acquaintance with the Word of God, 

(58) 



MINISTERIAL PREPARATION 59 

which he had now determined should be his only 
rule of life. So the first year in the new home 
was devoted to a most conscientious study of 
the Scriptures, with the view of efficiently pre- 
senting them to his fellowmen. These studies, 
as those of earlier years, were under the direc- 
tion of his father, who, in lieu of a theological 
course, advised his son to " divest himself of all 
earthly concern, to retire to his chamber, to 
take up the Divine Book, and to make it the 
subject of his study for at least six months." 
In response to this wise counsel we discover him 
zealously pursuing his studies, broadening and 
deepening his knowledge of the truth, which 
was henceforth to furnish him the weapon of his 
warfare. The elder Campbell was now so occu- 
pied with his endeavors to promote the cause of 
union among the people, that he was necessarily 
absent from home much of the time, and Alex- 
ander was consequently thrown back upon his 
own resources. Long disciplined,however, in the 
school of self-education, he had no difficulty in 
meeting the situation before him; and in drink- 
ing from the stream that flowed pure and fresh 
from the fountain of Divine wisdom, gained, 
what the best theological course of the times 
could not have given him, an unbiased acquaint- 
ance with the Christian Scriptures. 

Every moment of time, now, as at Glasgow, 
was earnestly devoted to self-improvement. He 



60 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

had just entered upon his twenty-second year, 
strong, resolute and purposeful, and felt that 
the Master's business demanded haste. That he 
might better account for his time, he arranged 
for himself a plan of studies for the winter of 
1810, to which he religiously adhered. This pro- 
gram, which may help some of our young read- 
ers to the better employment of neglected 
moments, we give just as he wrote it for his own 
guidance : 

" One hour to read Greek — from 8 to 9 in the 
morning. 

" One hour to read Latin — from 11 to 12 in 
the morning. 

"One half hour to Hebrew — between 12 and 

1 P. M. 

" Commit ten verses of the Scripture to mem- 
ory each day, and read the same in the original 
languages with Henry and Scott's notes and prac- 
tical] observations. For this exercise I shall allow 
two hours. These exercises being intended for 
every day, will not be dispensed with. Other 
reading and studies as occasion may serve. 
These studies in all require four and a half 
hours. Church history and divers other studies 
are intended to constitute the principal part of 
my literary pursuits. 

" May God in his great mercy afford me time, 
ability and inclination to attend to these inten- 
tions, and to his name may all the glory and 



MINISTERIAL PREPARATION 61 

honor redound, through Jesus Christ. Amen. 
Alexander Campbell, Sunday, Dec. 31, 1809. " x 

In addition to these arduous, self-imposed 
tasks, he assumed the responsibility, during the 
hours unappropriated by study, of directing the 
education of the younger members of the fami- 
ly, and in assisting Abraham Altars, a promising 
member of the Association, in his studies pre- 
paratory to the work of the ministry. 

The coming of this remarkable young man into 
the community was not unobserved. That Alex- 
ander was possessed of extraordinary powers 
was soon discovered, and inviting fields of labor 
were repeatedly offered him. A lawyer from 
Pittsburg, having formed his acquaintance, was 
so favorably impressed with his attainments and 
ability, that he urged him to take charge of an 
academy, of which he was trustee, offering 
$1,000 a year for his services, at that time a 
most tempting salary. Alexander did not hesi- 
tate to decline this flattering offer, giving as his 
reason, unswerving loyalty to the principles ad- 
vocated by his father, and his determination to 
use all his energies in promoting the proposed 
reformation. Inducements were also offered, as 
soon as it was known that he was preparing him- 
self for the ministry, to have him identify him- 
self with some particular branch of the church, 
which would assure him popularity and a liberal 

1 Memoirs, Vol. 1, p. 278. 



62 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

support. The lofty impulses of his nature were 
never better illustrated than by the rejection of 
all these overtures, to become the champion of 
a cause which he knew would, in all probability, 
provoke the hostility of religious parties and 
which promised him nothing of earthly recom- 
pense. 

In the interval of preparation for his work he 
was, as we have noted, a keen observer of the 
new conditions of society which surrounded him, 
and he was far from being pleased with the re- 
sults of his observations. Coming from one of 
the most intelligent portions of Ireland, accus- 
tomed to educated and refined society, he was 
often shocked at the rudeness and unwonted 
freedom of young people in their social inter- 
course, and especially at their want of education 
and culture. While the energy of the pioneer 
was so largely consumed in clearing away the 
forests, and subduing the wilderness, and pro- 
Tiding for the bare necessities of life, Alexander 
felt that there were, nevertheless, possibilities 
within the reach of these hardy, well-meaning 
settlers, which were being neglected. A born 
reformer, he became convinced that the com- 
munity needed social, as well as religious reform- 
ation, and determined to do what was in his 
power to correct the social follies of his new 
surroundings. An opportunity presented itself 
in an invitation to contribute to the columns of 



MINISTERIAL PREPARATION 63 

the Reporter , a weekly paper published in the 
village of Washington. A series of original 
essays followed from his pen, in which he sought 
to infuse his own lofty ideals into the hearts of 
the young people of the community. These ap- 
peared over the nora de plume "Clarinda," 
and though written in a somewhat playful, yet 
satirical vein, illustrate the deeply serious pur- 
pose of the young man, and that command of 
strong, effective words which made him an oppo- 
nent to be feared in any conflict in which princi- 
ple was involved. 

A little later he undertook, through the col- 
umns of the same journal, the more serious task 
of educational reform. The town boasted of a 
small, struggling institution of learning. But to 
this student of the old world university, with its 
stately and time-honored customs, the western 
college seemed to smack too much of the coarse, 
rude conditions of the frontier, to achieve its 
end in the training of young men for a sphere of 
culture and refinement. He, therefore, sought 
by his fearless pen to awaken its faculty and 
students to a higher conception of the aims and 
purposes of true education. His attacks stirred 
up a fierce controversy, which ran through many 
numbers of the Reporter; but he enjoyed the 
satisfaction in the end of having vanquished all 
his opponents, and in later years received the 
thanks of the very men whom he then transfixed 



64 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

on his intellectual lance. In these exercises the 
young reformer was whetting his blade for 
future conflicts in which he was to engage, and 
was given a foretaste of future triumphs that 
awaited his voice and pen, when he should fully 
enter upon his great work. 

Though Alexander Campbell's life had thus 
far been spent in the training of mind and heart 
for the great work of winning men to Christ, as 
yet his powers of public address had been un- 
tried. It was not a young people's age, and little 
inducement or encouragement was offered them 
in the exercise of spiritual gifts. It was their 
place to sit at the feet of their elders in silence, 
unless God should in some unmistakable manner 
assure them of a call to the ministry. 

Thus, at twenty-two Alexander seems never to 
have taken even a humble part in the public 
worship of God's house. Youthfulness, dis- 
trust of his untried powers, and, perhaps most 
of all, his high ideals of the ministerial office, 
caused him to hesitate about entering the pulpit. 
His conceptions of the necessary qualifications 
of a minister, written in his journal while yet a 
student at Glasgow, show that from the begin- 
ning he had set before him a high standard. He 
then adopted these rules, by which he aeems to 
have modeled himself in his future course as a 
preacher: 

" 1. The preacher must be a man of piety, 



MINISTERIAL PREPARATION 65 

and one who has the instruction and salvation 
of mankind sincerely at heart. 

"2. A man of modest and simple manners, 
and "in his public performance and general be- 
havior must conduct himself so as to make his 
people sensible that he has their temporal and 
eternal welfare more at heart than anything else c 

" 3. He must be well instructed in morality 
and religion, and in the original tongues in 
which the Scriptures are written, for without 
them he can hardly be qualified to explain Scrip- 
ture or to teach religion and morality. 

" 4. He must be such a proficient in his own 
language, as to be able to express every doctrine 
and precept with the utmost simplicity, and 
without anything in his diction either finical on 
the one hand, or vulgar on the other. 

" 5. A sermon should be composed with reg- 
ularity and unity of design, so that all its parts 
may have a mutual and natural connection, and 
it should not consist of many heads, neither 
should it be very long. 

" 6. A sermon ought to be pronounced with 
gravity, modesty and meekness, and so as to be 
distinctly heard by all the audience. 

" 7. Let the preacher, therefore, accustom 
himself to articulate slowly and deliver the 
words with a distinct voice, and without artificial 
attitudes or motions or any other affectation." 1 

5 1 Memoirs, Vol. 1, p. 138. 



66 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

He had scarcely accomplished his six months 
of retirement and study, before his father began 
to urge upon him the importance of entering at 
once upon the active duties of the ministry. 
The harvest was great; the laborers were few. 
Almost alone the voice of Thomas Campbell 
sounded a return to the Gospel standard, but 
everywhere it found a responsive echo in hearts 
that were longing to see a new and better dispen- 
sation of things. Calls were coming faster than 
he could respond, and he foresaw the need of 
just such talents as he believed his son to pos- 
sess. 

At length, with many misgivings, Alexander 
consented to assist his father at one of his ap- 
pointments. This was in the early spring of 
1810. The place of meeting was a private house. 
It was arranged that the father should deliver 
the principal address, and that after a short in- 
termission Alexander should speak. At the ap- 
pointed time, he arose and spoke briefly, but 
with an ease and power that inspired him with 
confidence. This first effort could scarcely be 
called a sermon. It was simply an earnest ex- 
hortation, yet it so pleased the anxious father 
that he was heard to say, half aloud, at the close 
of his son's remarks, " Very well." 

Encouraged by his first humble effort, and at 
the urgent request of those who heard him, 
Alexander now consented to prepare and deliver 



MINISTERIAL PREPARATION 67 

a public discourse. An appointment was conse- 
quently made for him to address a meeting on 
July 15 9 at a grove a few miles distant from 
Washington. His neighbors, who had already 
discovered his promising abilities, gathered in 
large numbers to hear the first discourse of the 
youthful preacher. It was a trying hour. Many 
a young preacher, who in the end has achieved 
success, has gone down at the first trial, and re- 
tired in shame, only to come forth to renewed 
and successful effort, after days of excruciating 
agony. But Alexander Campbell was no ordi- 
nary young man. Like Minerva, who stepped 
full-grown from the brain of Jove, he stepped 
upon the platform an accomplished speaker, a 
master of assemblies, already possessed with the 
power to sway men's hearts. As he arose to 
speak, his commanding figure, coupled with the 
bloom of youthf ulness which colored his cheek, 
arrested the attention of his audience, and his 
clear, ringing voice and quiet earnestness held 
their interest to the end. 

The text for the occasion was taken from the 
closing verses of the Sermon on the Mount, 
" Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of 
mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise 
man, who built his house upon a rock." His 
purpose that day was in perfect accord with the 
message of the text. He had himself been sit- 
ting, in profound and wrapt attention, at the 



68 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

feet of the Master, and it had become his unal- 
terable determination to hear the sayings of 
Christ and do them. Without pausing to con- 
sider in detail this sermon, an outline of which 
is preserved in his Memoirs, it is sufficient to 
note the impression made by it upon both the 
audience and the speaker. 

The sermon had been prepared with great 
pains, as were all his early efforts, written in full 
and committed to memory, not a difficult task 
for one of his grasp of mind. It embodied the 
speaker's own deeper convictions of the truth. 
" There was something in the reverential bearing 
of the speaker, in the unaffected simplicity of 
his manner, in the appropriateness of his ex- 
pressions, and in the earnest, distinct intonations 
of his clear, commanding voice, that seemed to 
rivet the attention of all upon the thought and 
the pictures he presented." Without attempt- 
ing to play the orator, he had struck the key- 
note of persuasive art. As the young preacher 
closed his discourse, but one opinion prevailed. 
It was the universal judgment that he could 
preach better than his father, which, in view of 
the reputation of Thomas Campbell as a speak- 
er, was the highest compliment they could 
bestow. 

The effect of the discourse upon the speaker 
himself was not less marked than its impression 
upon the people. He had established his repu- 



MINISTERIAL PREPARATION 69 

tation among the members of the Association to 
which he belonged. He had done more. He had 
discovered Alexander Campbell to himself. To 
his great joy he realized that he had not mis- 
taken his calling when he dedicated his life to 
the ministry of the Word, and it was his delight, 
henceforth, to exercise his gifts continually for 
the elevation of his fellowmen. 

That he might escape the imputation of mer- 
cenary motives, and that he might be actuated 
in his course only by unselfish love for Christ, 
he had already decided to serve his Master with- 
out earthly reward, save that which comes from 
a consciousness of doing good. Announcing 
this determination to his father, the latter re- 
plied, "Upon these principles, my son, I fear 
you will have to wear many a ragged coat." He 
nevertheless strictly adhered to his purpose, re- 
fusing, during his entire ministry, to accept any 
remuneration for the preaching of the Gospel, 
and often, like Paul, laboring "with his own 
hands," to provide the temporal necessities. 

Having demonstrated his power as a preacher, 
the services of Alexander Campbell were from 
this time in constant demand. The field, it is 
true, would not be regarded as an inviting one 
by the young preacher of to-day. No city con- 
gregations extended calls to him. No great 
churches opened their doors that he might enter. 
No metropolitan dailies opened their columns to 



70 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

reports of his sermons. His fame was as yet 
confined to the scattered pioneers of his own 
vicinity, and he gladly responded to their calls, 
content that a door of usefulness had opened to 
him. These early labors were carried on in the 
neighboring villages, in the farm-house, the spa- 
cious barn, or, when weather permitted, under 
the shade of some inviting grove. Wherever an 
opportunity presented itself, he went, and since 
he had ruled the matter of compensation out of 
the question, a congregation of poor farmers 
afforded him as promising a field as would a 
metropolitan temple with its capital and culture. 
Thus during the first year he preached more 
than one hundred sermons, in all these early 
efforts maintaining the standard he had set for 
himself, and adding to his local reputation as a 
preacher of extraordinary power. 

A great help to the young preacher at this 
period was the kindly criticism of his father. 
Thomas Campbell had been trained after the 
strict rules of the Scotch Seceder clergy, in the 
composition and arrangement of his sermons. 
Each effort was a model of homiletic exactness. 
These rules he was now disposed to apply for 
the improvement of his son. It was his invari- 
able custom, after hearing his son preach in these 
early efforts, to test the sermon upon his return 
home by the established rules, or when the fath- 
er preached the son was encouraged to do the 



MINISTERIAL PREPARATION 71 

same. The special point of this friendly criti- 
cism was that the division of the subject ex- 
hausted it, and that its doctrines were strictly 
those of the text. With such a mentor, Alexan- 
der was saved from the homiletic blunders into 
which young ministers so often fall. 

Another event in the life of Alexander Camp- 
bell, which, while perhaps not strictly a part of 
ministerial preparation as prescribed by the 
Seminaries, had such a vital bearing upon his 
life-work, that it very properly presents itself 
for consideration in this connection. He had now 
arrived at an age when his thoughts turned upon 
another subject of vital importance to human 
welfare and happiness. He believed with the 
Scriptures that it was not good for man to be 
alone. Along with his great intellectual power, 
he had a warm domestic nature, that sought and 
found its keenest enjoyment in the home circle. 
But, if up to this period he had seriously con- 
templated a matrimonial alliance, his biographer 
has not mentioned it. Indeed, from his letters 
published in the Weekly Reporter, to which 
allusion has already been made, he seems to 
have taken unromantic views of the question, 
frowning upon the unusual liberties exercised by 
the young people of his community, and con- 
demning with all the earnestness of his nature 
the matrimonial yoke too carelessly assumed. 

To him life was full of great problems, and 



72 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

the choosing of a wife who was to share in their 
solution was not the least serious business before 
him. His character was altogether too well- 
balanced for his heart to run away with his head, 
or to be led into any alliance which would not 
further him in the great mission of his life. 

The circumstances which led to his marriage 
are unromantic in the extreme. His father, in 
his ministry to the scattered saints, had formed 
the acquaintance of John Brown, an intelligent 
and prosperous farmer across the State line, in 
what is now West Virginia. As Thomas Camp- 
bell's labors frequently brought him into the 
neighborhood, this acquaintance ripened into a 
warm friendship. They were akin in their deep 
interest in religious themes and in their literary 
tastes. During one of his visits, Thomas Camp- 
bell promised Mr. Brown some favorite books, 
and upon his return to Washington sent them 
down by his son Alexander. This errand was 
destined to be an important one in his career. 
In the family of Mr. Brown was an only daugh- 
ter, Margaret, then some eighteen years of age, 
whom he now for the first time met. She is 
described as tall, slender and graceful, with a 
sweet, benignant countenance and most engaging 
manners. Nor was she deficient in those graces 
of mind and heart which give to beauty its real 
charm. She was noted in the neighborhood for 
her piety and industry; and had enjoyed the best 



MINISTERIAL PREPARATION 73 

educational privileges at that time provided for 
young women. On the whole, her warm, gentle 
nature was suited to the strong, rugged intellect 
of the young preacher, and he was not long in 
discovering it. He found it easy to invent or 
discover excuses for repeating his visits. His 
talents and acquirements soon won for him a 
hearty welcome in the family circle, and his 
sprightly and agreeable conversational powers 
made him a most enjoyable companion. The 
intimacy thus established between Alexander 
Campbell and the Brown family led to warmer 
feelings between the daughter and himself, which 
ended in a proposal of marriage, and their union 
on March 12, 1811. 

Following his marriage, Mr. Campbell went to 
live with his father-in-law; and while continuing 
to preach at different points within the reach of 
his new home, his delight in active exercise led 
him at once to engage in assisting Mr. Brown in 
the management of the farm. Having acquired 
a practical knowledge of farming in boyhood, he 
entered upon his new duties with the ability and 
zeal that characterized all his undertakings. 

Here he also displayed his extraordinary capac- 
ity for achievement, combining with his daily 
labors on the farm an uninterrupted study of the 
great questions that concerned him as a minister 
of the Gospel. Physical exercise seemed only 
to whet his mind to a keener edge; and his 



74 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

enjoyment of out-door life was not allowed to 
interfere with the regular course of study which 
he continued to prescribe for himself. As an 
illustration of his method of study, we give the 
following instance: "When his horses, weary 
with the plow, were resting for a little while in 
the shade, he would take from his pocket the 
New Testament he always carried, and spend the 
time in committing a portion of it to memory, or 
in tracing out the order and method of a dis- 
course upon some important theme." 1 He con- 
tinued to observe the old habit, formed during 
his student life, of early rising, and thus gained 
many a quiet hour for study while others slept. 
The noon-hour, too, while resting from labor, 
was similarly occupied. He thus spent every 
moment, disengaged from labor,either in study or 
in conversing about the great subjects amidst 
which he continually dwelt. In a carefully pre- 
served catalogue he kept a list of all the books 
he read, and a summary of all the important 
truths they contained; and during the first year 
of his married life he read, according to his own 
estimate, thirtj'-five volumes, containing an 
aggregate of 8,354 pages. Nor were these read 
in a superficial manner, but with the greatest 
care, making extensive extracts of such portions 
as he desired to remember. 

Thus in an obscure corner of the earth, and in 

1 Memoirs, Vol. 1, p. 441. 



MINISTERIAL PREPARATION 75 

humble occupations, Providence was fashioning 
the mind and heart of a religious leader, who was 
shortly, like John the Baptist in the wilderness 
of Judea, to unmask the pharisaism of his time, 
and to call a world of erring ecclesiasts to true 
repentance. 



EELIG10US DISCOVEEIES. 

A bout the time of Alexander Campbell's mar- 
** riage, a crisis came to the affairs of the 
Christian Association. The nucleus of friends 
who gathered about him and his venerable 
father, began insensibly to assume the position 
of a distinct religious body. This awakened the 
deep concern of the elder Campbell. It had 
never been his intention to add to the confusion 
of the religious world by founding or encourag- 
ing a separate religious society. From the first 
he had insisted that the Association was in no 
sense to be regarded as a church. It was merely 
to be an organization of men, working through 
the various churches to which they belonged, for 
the union of God's children. 

It had been a matter of continuous regret to 
Thomas Campbell, that he had been compelled 
to withdraw for a season from the church that 
nurtured him; and now he shrank from the 
responsibility of creating a new religious party, 
and was disposed to the adoption of any meas- 
ure by which such a result could be avoided. 
Foreseeing the danger, he was led, some months 

(76) 



RELIGIOUS DISCOVERIES 77 

previous, through the suggestion of friends in 
the Presbyterian Church, to consider favor- 
ably an ecclesiastical union with that body. 
Why should he not? His own forgiving nature 
had refused to cherish resentment for the treat- 
ment accorded him by his brethren. As yet he 
and most of his followers held, in the main, to 
the doctrines of the Westminster Confession of 
Faith. The only alternative was the organiza- 
tion of an independent church. Influenced by a 
strong desire to conserve the peace of religious 
society, he finally concluded to apply for mem- 
bership in the Presbyterian Synod, soon to meet 
in Washington. His son, with keener foresight, 
did not anticipate any favorable result, but 
acceded to his father's plans. 

Accordingly Thomas Campbell appeared be- 
fore the Synod, explaining the principles of the 
Association to which he belonged, and asking 
admission for himself and his brethren. His 
friendly overtures were rejected, and his recep- 
tion into "ministerial and Christian commun- 
ion" denied on the vague claim that there were 
"important reasons" for this decision. Stung 
by this denial, and its implied reflection upon his 
own ministerial standing, he demanded to know 
what the "important reasons" were. He was 
informed that the most serious were his attitude 
of indifference toward infant baptism, his oppo- 
sition to creeds and confessions, and the encour- 



78 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

agement which he had given his son to preach 
the Gospel without any regular authority. These 
were the grounds of his offending, and not any 
irregularity of life or conduct on his part. No 
concessions which he could conscientiously make 
would remove these barriers, though he humbly 
promised to be obedient to the Synod in every 
thing, if only he were permitted to advocate 
"Christian union upon Christian principles." 
This privilege he could not and would not sur- 
render, and the Presbyterian fold was not then 
large enough to admit him on such a platform. 
Upon the failure of this well-meant effort, 
nothing remained for the members of the Asso- 
ciation, in their desire for church-fellowship, 
but to resolve themselves into an independent 
church. Thomas Campbell, with great reluc- 
tance, finally gave his consent that steps should 
be taken to effect such an organization, and a 
meeting for this purpose was appointed for 
May 4, 1811. At this meeting it was proposed 
that admission to membership should be granted 
to those who gave satisfactory answer to the 
question, " What is the meritorious cause of a 
sinner's acceptance with God? " To this test 
question, which was never again propounded, 
thirty gave satisfactory answers, and were 
enrolled as the members of the new church. 
Thomas Campbell, the originator and leader of 
the movement, was selected as the elder, four 



RELIGIOUS DISCOVERIES 79 

deacons were chosen, and Alexander Campbell, 
whose great talents were now recognized, was 
licensed to preach the Gospel. 

Thus was formally organized a distinct relig- 
ious communion, known as the Brush Run 
Church, a veritable church in the wilderness. 
These thirty valiant names, banded together in 
the search for, and in the common pursuit of, a 
more excellent way of Christian conquest than 
that presented by the strife and bitterness of 
sectarianism, formed a new band of Pilgrim 
Fathers, before whom was an unbeaten path and 
many perils. But right heroically did they pur- 
sue their way in the face of obstacles that to us 
seem almost insurmountable. 

In many essential respects this pioneer church 
differed from the thousands of churches which 
have sprung from its foundation; but it had 
already caught the underlying truths which cul- 
minated in the principles to-day advocated by a 
great Christian brotherhood. Two vital princi- 
ples constituted its platform. The first was the 
sole authority of the Bible as the basis of faith 
and fellowship. Thomas Campbell's famous 
declaration, " Where the Scriptures speak we 
speak; where the Scriptures are, silent we are 
silent," made further statement of belief or 
terms of fellowship than those given in the 
Bible impossible. The second principle was 
that which had consumed the life of Thomas 



80 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

Campbell, the exaltation of the standard of 
union in Christ. The new church was to be a 
beacon-light calling the attention of the world to 
the prayer of the Master that "they all may be 
one." Farther than this it did not, at this time, 
seem prepared to go. Its members had not even 
stopped to consider the logical conclusions to 
which their own principles would lead them. 
The plan of salvation, the form and meaning of 
baptism, and many other questions that were 
dividing the religious world, had not as yet 
claimed their serious attention. But the leaven 
had been planted, and would in time work out 
the fullness of the Master's purpose. 

That the views of Alexander Campbell were in 
perfect accord with the main object of this newly 
organized church, we have evidence in his own 
utterances. "I dare not be a party man," said 
he, " for these reasons: 

" 1. Because Christ has forbidden me. He 
has commanded us to keep the 6 unity of the 
Spirit;' to be ' of one mind and of one judg- 
ment;' to 'love each other with a pure heart fer- 
vently,' and to ' call no man master ' on earth. 

"2. Because no party will receive into com- 
munion all whom God would receive into 
heaven. God loves his children more than 
creeds, and man was not made for the Bible, but 
the Bible for man. But if I am asked by a par- 



EELIGIOUS DISCOVERIES 81 

tisan, Could you not join us and let these things 
alone? I answer, no, because — 

" 3. The man that promotes the interest of a 
party stands next in guilt to the man that made 
it. The man that puts a second stone on a build- 
ing is as instrumental in its erection as the man 
that laid the first. He that supports a party bids 
the party God speed; and he that bids them God 
speed is a partaker of their evil deeds. 

" 4. Because all parties oppose reformation. 
They all pray for it; but they will not work for 
it. None of them dare return to the original 
standard. I speak not against any denomination 
in particular, but against all. I speak not 
against any system of truth, but against all ex- 
cept the Bible. ' Hold fast the form of sound 
words ' condemns them all. It is a doleful truth, 
that the very persons who ought to have advo- 
cated reformation, always opposed it." 1 

The first need of the new church was a meet- 
ing-place. Thus far the meetings had been 
held wherever opportunity afforded, generally in 
the houses of its devoted members. But the 
steps recently taken made a fixed meeting-place 
indispensable to the permanence and success of 
the movement. The members, therefore, set to 
work diligently in the construction of a rude 
building at Brush Run, and so rapidly was the 
work prosecuted by these willing hands, that by 

6 1 Memoirs, vol. 1, p. 353. 



82 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

June 16, Alexander Campbell was able to preach 
the first sermon in the new meeting-house. So 
poor were most of the members that they were 
unable to finish the interior of this modest frame 
building, and assembled in it for worship even 
during the inclemency of winter without stoves 
or other appointments of comfort. But the chill 
and cheerlessness of their surroundings found 
compensation in the ardor of their devotion and 
the warmth of their affection which had been 
elevated above the love of party by the love of 
Christ. 

An episode occurred at this first meeting which 
soon led to important changes in the practice of 
this infant church. It was resolved that the 
Lord's Supper should be celebrated weekly, in 
conformity with the example of the primitive 
church; but at the first communion service it 
was observed that several who were regarded as 
members did not partake of the emblems. On 
inquiry, it was discovered that they did not con- 
sider themselves scriptural subjects, as they had 
not been baptized. Upon further inquir}^ it 
was learned that they would be satisfied with 
nothing but immersion as scriptural baptism. 
Though Thomas Campbell had himself been 
sprinkled in infancy, and did not as yet question 
the validity of his baptism, he did not scruple to 
accede to the demands of these members, since 
they had never been baptized. So they were 



RELIGIOUS DISCOVERIES - 83 

taken to a pool in Buffalo Creek, and with due 
ceremony immersed. It is curious to observe 
the manner of this first immersion in the new 
church, which would now scarcely be regarded as 
befitting the solemnity of the occasion. He 
requested the candidates to wade out into the 
pool, to the depth of their shoulders, while he 
climbed out on an overhanging root, and bent 
their heads beneath the water, repeating as he 
did so the baptismal formula. But whatever 
may have been thought of the manner in which 
the baptism was administered, it was significant 
that Thomas Campbell, the leader of this 
reformatory movement, should be the first to 
introduce immersion, a practice which has since 
become one of the distinguishing features of the 
Christian Church. 

The early years following the organization of 
the Brush Run Church were eventful years in 
the history of the new movement. Its promo- 
ters had launched upon an untried sea, and had 
not yet learned their bearings. But they had an 
unfailing compass on board in the Word of God. 
Following its direction, they were being continu- 
ally led toward the desired haven of Truth; but 
not without encountering many a storm of bitter 
opposition, and many perilous experiences. 

Alexander Campbell, having cut loose from 
his old religious moorings, was now confronted 
by many difficult problems. The way seems so 



84 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

plain to us that we can scarcely conceive of the 
trials of those pioneer days. His early religious 
training, and the accepted customs of religious 
society, were barriers that intercepted the full 
flash of truth. But having now resolved to 
accept nothing upon the traditions of the fath- 
ers, he determined that each step before him 
should be taken under scriptural guidance, and 
not until he was clearly convinced that he was 
following in the footsteps of the Master. This 
accounts for the gradual unfolding of the prin- 
ciples of the new reformation, covering a period 
of some sixteen years, from 1811 to 1827. 

Having first convinced himself of the scriptur- 
alness of his position, he was ordained to the 
ministry upon the recommendation of the Brush 
Run Church on the first day of the new year 
1812. He had already, as we have seen, been 
doing acceptable work as a preacher, but he felt 
that the time had come that his life must be 
irrevocably dedicated to religious work. He did 
not regard the ceremony of ordination as confer- 
ring any authority which he did not already pos- 
sess, but as a public testimony that the person 
ordained possessed the necessary authority. 

As the result of a searching self-examination 
at this time, he has left us the following heart- 
picture of himself, in which he enumerates the 
Providential circumstances that made the hum- 



RELIGIOUS DISCOVERIES 85 

ble office of the ministry his final and unalter- 
able choice: 

"Special instances of Divine power, which I 
consider to bind me under obligations to be 
specially devoted to Him, with my whole mind, 
soul and body: 1. In being born of religious 
parents, and of course religiously educated. 
2. In receiving an education, in some respects, 
to qualify me for that office, and this education 
providential in the following respects: (1) In 
my grand desire at first being not to preach the 
Gospel, but to shine in literary honors and afflu- 
ence. (2) In my design being frustrated, and 
my mind turned to desire that office. (3) In my 
being introduced, quite contrary to expectation, 
to the University of Glasgow, and the literary 
advantages there. 3. In resolving, when in 
imminent danger at sea, to serve God in this 
way, on two occasions of extraordinary deliver- 
ance. 4. In my situation being such upon my 
arrival in this country, that I could not prepare 
myself for any other office. 5. In the particu- 
lar persecutions that befell my father, which shut 
up ally prospects of support in the exercise of 
that office, yet in my giving it the preference. 
6. In my favorable and easy circufnstances for 
that purpose. 7. In giving me a choice com- 
panion, congenial to my inclination of serving 
Him. 8. In giving me some desire after his 
salvation. 9. In giving me some desire after 



86 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

the salvation and reformation of mankind. 
10. In giving me tolerably good talents for edi- 
fying others. 11. In giving me a call from the 
church to preach the Gospel. 12. In my desire 
to suffer hardships and reproach in that good 
work." 1 

It was natural that one actuated by such high 
and disinterested motives should shrink from 
no step urged by the dictates of conscience and 
duty. In this we find the true spirit of a re- 
former, and many were the changes that it soon 
led him to 'make. 

The question of scriptural baptism, to which 
he had hitherto given little attention, now came 
before him in new light. The arrival of a 
daughter in the new home made the question of 
infant baptism one of " immediate, practical 
interest." From his early education, he had 
come to look upon it as a religious act not to be 
neglected, but he now discovered to his satisfac- 
tion that it was without divine authority. But 
a more startling thought came to his mind while 
engaged in this investigation. If infant baptism 
was unscriptural, had he ever himself been bap- 
tized? Previously he had put the question aside 
by saying, " As I am sure it is unscriptural to 
make this matter a term of communion, I let it 
slip. I wish to think and let think on those 
matters." But that answer no longer satisfied 

1 Memoirs, Vol. 1, p. 381. 



RELIGIOUS ^DISCOVERIES 87 

his conscience. He must know the mind of the 
Master. A careful study of the whole subject 
followed. Abandoning all uninspired authori- 
ties, he applied himself afresh to the study of 
the Bible. 

At the conclusion of this investigation, he 
discovered that not only the baptism of infants, 
but its administration by sprinkling, was un- 
authorized, and that he was an unbaptized per- 
son. In this conclusion his wife heartily con- 
curred, and both resolved to obey the command 
of Christ in the light of his Word. With him, to 
resolve was to act. Wishing to proceed without 
delay, he made application to Matthias Luce, a 
Baptist minister of his acquaintance, to perform 
the rite. Out of respect to his father, he thought 
best to acquaint him with his purpose. In the 
interview, Thomas Campbell was reticent, but 
offered no particular objection; and on the day 
appointed for baptism, to the surprise of all, 
appeared in readiness to yield similar obedience, 
along with wife and oldest daughter. The occa- 
sion was a memorable one. A large company of 
friends had assembled on the banks of the Buf- 
falo , for, having become convinced of his dut} T , 
Alexander determined that the people to whom 
he preached should have the opportunity of wit- 
nessing this public profession of his former 
error. 

At this point, Alexander Campbell took an- 



88 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

other step toward the restoration of the New 
Testament pattern. Hitherto believer's baptism 
had only been administered upon certain ac- 
cepted tests of the spiritual fitness of the candi- 
date, called a religious experience. Believing 
that the only divinely-authorized prerequisite to 
baptism was an acknowledgment of the Messiah- 
ship of Jesus, Mr. Campbell stipulated that he 
was to receive baptism on the simple confession 
that " Jesus is the Son of God," declaring, "I 
have set out to follow the apostles of Christ and 
their Master, and I will be baptized only into 
the primitive Christian faith." 

This step taken by the leaders of the new 
movement, soon led to important changes that 
became far-reaching in their results. 

The first was the change of position which 
Thomas and Alexander Campbell henceforth 
sustained to the movement. Up to this point 
Thomas Campbell had been the recognized and 
trusted leader. It was his voice that first 
sounded the call to God's wrangling children to 
cease from their unseemly strife. It was his pen 
that marked out a pathway to a broader and 
holier fellowship. But " from the moment 
Thomas Campbell coucluded to follow the exam- 
ple of his son in relation to baptism," the man- 
tle of leadership passed to the latter. Without 
rivalry or jealousy, and in the same perfect con- 
fidence and loving companionship, they contin- 



RELIGIOUS DISCOVERIES 89 

ued to share the labors of the cause they had 
espoused, but it was Alexander who, henceforth, 
stood in the forefront, strong, resolute, aggres- 
sive, the recognized leader of the Reformation, 
intensely hated by his enemies, ardently admired 
and loved by his friends. 

The course of Alexander Campbell and his 
father, relative to the question of baptism, was 
soon followed by a majority of the congregation, 
and in the end immersion was unanimously rec- 
ognized as the only scriptural baptism. 



VI. 

TEIALS AND TRIUMPHS. 

A s was to be expected, the attitude of the 
Brush Run Church in becoming a body of 
immersed believers, awakened a storm of oppo- 
sition from the Pedo-baptist ranks, and its mem- 
bers became the subjects of no little persecu- 
tion. Misrepresentations of all kinds were 
freely circulated among the people. Family and 
friendship ties were broken, and the common 
civilities of society were denied to this new order 
of heretics. It is related that Alexander Camp- 
bell, returning after nightfall from one of his 
appointments about this time, was overtaken by 
a violent storm. Calling at the home of a 
Seceder lady, he sought shelter. Before grant- 
ing his request she desired to know his name. 
Being informed that it was Alexander Campbell 
who sought her hospitality, she promptly refused 
him admittance, giving as a reason her hostility 
to his religious views; so he was obliged to con- 
tinue his journey in the face of a furious tem- 
pest, through an almost trackless forest, until he 
reached home. 

These trials, so far from discouraging this 
(90) 



TEIALS AND TRIUMPHS 91 

feeble band of reformers, served rather to 
strengthen their faith and purpose. Convinced 
of the correctness of their course, they were 
drawn more closely to each other by the petty 
persecutions which they were now called to suf- 
fer. " They often visited each other's houses, 
often spending a considerable portion of the 
night in social prayer, in searching the Scrip- 
tures, asking and answering questions, and sing- 
ing hymns of praise." Thus was laid, in ob- 
scurity and adversity, the foundation of a great 
religious movement. 

A new situation now confronted Mr. Campbell 
and his followers. The course which brought 
them into disfavor with Pedo-baptists secured 
their acceptance with Baptists. Since they had 
become immersionists, the latter began to man- 
ifest a friendly interest in them, and urged them 
to become members of the Redstone Association, 
which embraced all the Baptist churches of that 
region. The matter was laid before the mem- 
bers of the Brush Run Church in the autumn of 
1813. After much hesitation and prayerful con- 
sideration, it was decided to enter the Associa- 
tion, on condition that its members should be 
independent of all human creeds, and should 
enjoy the privilege of preaching whatever they 
learned from the Holy Scriptures, "regardless 
of any creed or formula in Christendom." Up- 
on these terms they were received, and a union 



92 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

was formed which for several years furnished a 
home for this infant church. 

Speaking of his religious views at this period, 
Mr. Campbell said: "lam now an Independ- 
ent in church government and a Baptist in so 
far as respects baptism." While differing in 
many things from the views held by the Baptist 
ministers with whom he was associated, he was 
ready to grant that liberty of opinion which, had 
it been granted him in turn, might have led to a 
permanent and happy union in Christ's service. 

In the meantime Mr. Campbell continued to 
preach in connection with his labors on the 
farm, but without making any decided impres- 
sion on the community. Occasionally individu- 
als presented themselves for baptism, but the 
loss by removals equaled the gains by accession, 
and the church was scarcely able to preserve its 
original number. Discouraged over the meager 
results of his labors, he favorably entertained a 
movement, now set on foot by some of his friends, 
to plant a religious colony in some unsettled por- 
tion of Ohio. It was urged that with a member- 
ship so scattered, nothing could be accomplished 
in the face of the opposition encountered, and 
that in a newer section of the country they could 
improve their condition and increase their use- 
fulness. Mr. Campbell was invited to join the 
company, and was made a member of the com- 
mittee sent out to select a suitable location. 



TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS 93 

After visiting different portions of the State, the 
vicinity of Zanesville was selected as the most 
suitable location for carrying out the purposes 
of the society, and it was decided that removal 
should take place as soon as they could individ- 
ually make arrangements to do so. 

In this new field it was felt that greater 
progress could be made in advocating the princi- 
ples of the Christian Association. Bat this was 
not to be God's method in the promotion of his 
cause. When Mr. Campbell, on his return, ac- 
quainted his father-in-law with his intentions, 
Mr. Brown seriously opposed the project, object- 
ing to the removal of his only daughter and his 
son-in-law, whom he regarded with great esteem, 
to so great a distance. As an inducement to 
keep them near him, he offered to present Mr. 
Campbell with the fine farm on which he lived. 
This generous offer Mr. Campbell gratefully 
accepted, abandoning the colonization scheme, 
which now fell through, and entering with new 
zeal upon his combined labors as farmer and 
preacher. By this gift he was providentially 
provided with the means which enabled him to 
devote his energies unreservedly and without 
remuneration to the spread of reformatory prin- 
ciples. His management of the farm which thus 
came into his possession, was with an industry 
and ability that did not fail to commend him to 
the neighboring farmers ; but he never allowed 



94 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

these labors to interfere with his regular ap- 
pointments for preaching, or to interrupt his 
communion with the great spirit of Truth. 

Thus began the home to which Alexander 
Campbell, with his great nature, was always 
warmly attached, and to which, after his long 
campaigns of later years, he returned to find 
refreshing rest and his keenest enjoyment. For 
the home thus providentially furnished him on 
the "beautiful flowing Buffalo," became after a 
time his beloved Bethany, where he engaged in 
his intensest labors, and which deserves ever to 
be celebrated as the cradle of the Nineteenth 
Century Reformation. 

The situation in which Mr. Campbell found 
himself, soon after his connection with the Red- 
stone Association of the Baptist churches, was 
far from inviting. The originality of his method 
in dealing with the Scriptures, and his utter dis- 
regard for customs, however time-honored, 
which were not sanctioned by primitive precept 
or example, awakened the suspicion of the more 
narrow-minded of the Baptist ministers, who 
were not slow in manifesting their disapproval. 
His popularity among the churches of the Asso- 
ciation, no doubt added to their displeasure, and 
at every opportunity he was made to feel the 
sting of their resentment. 

This hostility, which at first manifested itself 
in slights and little annoyances, at last led to 



TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS 95 

an open attack upon his teachings. In August, 
1816, in spite of the intrigues of his enemies, he 
was invited to speak at the annual meeting of 
the Association. Upon this occasion he preached 
his memorable " Sermon on the Law," taking 
his text from Romans 8:3: " For what the law 
could not do, in that it was weak through the 
flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness 
of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in 
the flesh." In this discourse, he made, for the 
first time, the distinction between the law and 
the Gospel, the old and the new dispensation, 
which afterward afforded him an impregnable 
position in his conflict with the religious errors 
of his time. A sentence or two from the con- 
clusion of the discourse, which may be found in 
full in Mr. Campbell's published works, will 
reveal the high spiritual tone of his utterance: 
" The Christian dispensation is called the min- 
istration of the Spirit, and, accordingly, every- 
thing in the salvation of the church is accom- 
plished by the immediate energy of the Spirit. 
Jesus Christ taught his disciples that the testi- 
mony concerning himself was that only which 
the Spirit would use, in converting such of the 
human family as should be saved. He would 
not speak of himself, but what he knew of 
Christ. Now he was to convince the world of 
sin, of righteousness, of judgment, not by 
applying the law of Moses, but the facts con- 



96 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

cerning Christ, to the consciences of the people. 
The Spirit accompanying the words which the 
apostles preached, would convince the world of 
sin; not by the ten precepts, but because they 
believed not in him, — of righteousness, because 
lie went to the Father, — and of judgment, because 
the prince of the world was judged by him. So 
that Christ, and not law, was the Alpha and 
Omega of their sermons, and this the Spirit 
made effectual to the salvation of thousands." x 

While the sermon presented nothing but the 
plain Scripture teaching on the subject, it was 
so bold an assault upon the theology and preach- 
ing current among the Baptists at that time, 
that it created a profound sensation. The lay 
members were, for the most part, pleased with 
its simple, natural presentation of the truth, but 
it only added fuel to the flame of bitterness 
which some of his fellow-preachers cherished 
toward him. "This will never do," they said, 
" this is not our doctrine." 

Mr. Campbell, in consequence of views pre- 
sented in this sermon, was " brought up for 
trial and condemnation" at the next meeting 
of the Association, which was held in the 
autumn of 1817. At that time but few were 
ready to accept his advanced religious con- 
clusions, the actual advocates of the Reforma- 
tion, scattered among the Baptists of three 

6 1 Millenial Harbinger, 1846. 



TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS 97 

States, not numbering more than one hundred 
and fifty persons. Notwithstanding this feeble 
support, upon investigation he was acquitted of 
the charges made against him, but the persecu- 
tion and misrepresentation continued. His ene- 
mies employed every means within their power 
to create prejudice against him, and from that 
time until his withdrawal from the Association, 
charges of heresy were annually preferred. 

The difficulties Mr. Campbell now encoun- 
tered, convinced him that he had nothing to 
hope from his brethren in the ministry, and that 
if his efforts at religious reformation were to 
succeed, it must be by the aid of young men 
trained under his direction. This led him to de- 
vote his energies for a time to the work of 
education. 

From early manhood he had manifested a deep 
interest in everything that would contribute to 
the intellectual development of his fellowmen. 
At the age of seventeen he had entered the 
schoolroom as his father's assistant. Later, in 
his father's absence, he had assumed the man- 
agement of the school. On his arrival in Amer- 
ica he used his pen with effect in advocating a 
better method of instruction than that employed 
by the pioneer educators of Western Pennsyl- 
vania. As now he worked out for himself a line 
of action in connection with the proposed relig- 
ious reformation, he felt that its success de- 



98 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

manded of its advocates the highest intellectual 
attainments possible. So deeply was he con- 
vinced of the need of an educated ministry, that 
he resolved at once to undertake the instruction 
of young men, if any could be found, who should 
aid in the cause of primitive Christianity. Early 
in 1818 he set on foot an educational enterprise 
which he hoped would accomplish this object. 
At the beginning of this year he announced his 
purpose of opening a seminary in his own house, 
chiefly for young men, thus adding to his other 
labors the arduous one of an instructor. The 
project in one particular was remarkably success- 
ful; in another it was a failure. 

The standing of his father as an educator, and 
his own reputation for energy and talent, soon 
brought him more pupils than he could accom- 
modate. Not only from his own neighborhood, 
but from Pittsburg and other points more dis- 
tant, young men came to enjoy the benefits of 
his scholarship. Those from a distance he 
boarded in his own family, and not only under- 
took the direction of their studies, but also 
sought to imbue their minds with a love for, and 
acquaintance with, the Scriptures, and to awaken 
a religious interest through the morning and 
evening devotions of his household. 

It is curious to note the expense of an educa- 
tion in this backwoods seminary. The tuition 
for any of the branches commonly taught in 



TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS 99 

academies, including Hebrew and French, was 
five dollars a quarter; while board and lodging 
were had for the modest sum of one dollar and a 
half per week. The discipline, too, was of a 
rather more vigorous type than that commonly 
employed in such institutions. Many of the 
young men were sent to him because shut out of 
other schools on account of insubordination. 
These, Mr. Campbell took in charge with a vig- 
orous hand, in one instance administering a 
severe flogging to the ring-leader, and establish- 
ing an authority that none henceforth dared 
question. But if he was at times severe, his 
genial nature, his warm sympathies, his winsome 
manner and his inexhaustible fund of informa- 
tion, in the end, won the respect and friendship 
of all who came under his influence. 

But while he succeeded beyond his expecta- 
tion in the work of securing and disciplining 
young men, in one respect the school proved a 
great disappointment to him. He greatly de- 
sired to see some of his pupils consecrate them- 
selves to the cause of truth, and join him in his 
crusade against religious error. It is not strange, 
when we consider the attitude of religious soci- 
ety toward Mr. Campbell at that time, that his 
desire was in no satisfactory measure realized. 
His views were regarded with suspicion, if not 
with bitter hostility. The acceptance of his 
cause promised nothing but reproach and perse- 



100 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

cution. It did not even hold out the prospect of 
moderate pecuniary support. Only minds stirred 
with the deepest convictions could be induced to 
enlist in such a cause, and it is not strange, in 
view of these conditions, that the young men 
under his instruction shrank from identifying 
themselves with so unpromising a movement. 

The Buffalo Seminary, notwithstanding its 
failure to win ministerial recruits, was continued 
for several years. Finding the burdens heavy, 
in 1819 Mr. Campbell called his father to his 
assistance; but even then he found his strength 
inadequate to the task of keeping up the school 
in connection with the growing demands upon 
his time as a preacher of the reformation. His 
health began to suffer from confinement in the 
schoolroom, and since the school did not sub- 
serve the chief purpose for which it was estab- 
lished, he concluded to discontinue it. So this 
early educational enterprise ended its career in 
1822. 

The failure of Alexander Campbell's endeav- 
ors, and those of his father, to secure the adop- 
tion of reform principles within existing parties, 
for a time limited his aim, and caused him to 
despair of seeing any change in religious society. 
So far from assuming the position of a public 
reformer, he abandoned all expectation of 
achieving more than the formation of a single 
congregation, with which he could enjoy the 



TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS 101 

exercise of Gospel privileges, as he conceived 
them in the New Testament. But all this while 
he was accomplishing more than he dreamed of. 
The leaven was at work; and his own reputa- 
tion, in spite of the efforts of his enemies to 
bring him into disrepute, was growing among 
the scattered Baptist churches of Western Penn- 
sylvania, Virginia and Ohio, over a wide region. 
An opportunity unexpectedly presented itself, 
in a section of the country where his fame as an 
able and logical speaker had preceded him, 
which was destined to furnish him with one of 
the most effective means for the advancement of 
his views. This was an invitation to engage in 
public debate in defense of the Baptist cause. 
It is a mistake, however, at this or any other 
period of his life, to regard him as a professional 
controversialist, never happy except when en- 
gaged in measuring lances with some theological 
antagonist, or assailing the religious views of 
others. Such a conception does great injustice 
to his generous nature. To put an end to relig- 
ious controversy had, from the beginning, been 
one of the chief aims of the movement which he 
advocated. His father had declared at the for- 
mation of the "Christian Association," that 
"though written objections to the proposed 
movement would be thankfully received and 
seriously considered, verbal controversy was ab- 
solutely refused." When the mantle of leader- 



102 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

ship fell upon the shoulders of Alexander Camp- 
bell, he strove to adhere to the same policy, 
shrank from public discussion, and was only 
drawn into it when any other course would have 
been attributed to the weakness of his cause. 
He was never the aggressor, though at a later 
period he became favorably disposed to this 
means of disseminating his views; but when the 
challenge came, he was the last man to shrink 
from a manly and honorable defense of what he 
held to be the truth. 

Thus he was drawn into five celebrated public 
discussions of questions covering a wide field of 
investigation, from the scriptural mode and 
meaning of Christian baptism to the defense of 
Protestantism against the Papacy, and of Chris- 
tianity against infidelity. In every instance he 
proved himself an able defender of the truth as 
he found it in the Christian Scriptures. 

The first call to engage in public, oral discus- 
sion, came to Mr. Campbell in the spring of 
1820. The jealousy of rival religious parties in 
an Ohio village led to a controversy between 
two preachers, one a Seceder, the other a Bap- 
tist. The dispute ended in a challenge by Rev. 
John Walker, the Seceder minister, to meet any 
Baptist minister of good standing, in the public 
discussion of the question of baptism. The high 
opinion entertained throughout that region of 
Mr. Campbell's ability, led to his selection as the 



TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS 103 

most suitable champion of such a cause. At first 
he declined to engage in the discussion, " not 
regarding public debate as the proper method of 
proceeding in contending for the faith once de- 
livered to the saints." Eepeated and urgent 
solicitation was made by his friends. Conscious 
of his own powers, possessed of dauntless cour- 
age, and fearing that his refusal might be inter- 
preted as a confession of the weakness of the 
Baptist ground, he at last yielded to the pressure 
and accepted the challenge. 

All preliminaries being arranged, the discus- 
sion was begun on June 19, at Mt. Pleasant, 
Ohio. The chief point of controversy was the 
scriptural authority for infant baptism; but be- 
fore the close of the debate it took a wider 
range, including the whole baptismal controversy 
as it was at that time waged between Baptist and 
Pedo-baptist. As the discussion proceeded, all 
recognized that the Baptist cause had found an 
invincible defender. His whole training had fit- 
ted him for such an arena. His liberal educa- 
tion, his vast reading, his remarkable memory, 
his rare powers of generalization, his splendid 
diction, his admirable self-control, sustained as 
they were by deep earnestness of purpose, gave 
him at once a vantage ground which he never 
relinquished. But such was the originality of 
his method in handling truth, and his freedom 
from the accepted nomenclature of the schools, 



104 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

that even the victory, which was universally 
admitted to be with him, was not accepted by his 
Baptist brethren as an unmixed blessing. The 
effect of this discussion, however, was to add to 
Mr. Campbell's growing reputation. His fame 
was widely extended by the publication of the 
debate, which was read by thousands, and began 
soon to produce results far beyond the fondest 
hopes of the young reformer. 

Meanwhile affairs in the Redstone Association 
were not improving. The success of his debate 
with Walker, while enlarging his circle of admir- 
ers, at the same time multiplied his antagonists. 
The leaders of the opposition in the Association 
continued their charges of heresy, and were ready 
to resort to any means that would increase the 
prejudice against him, and secure his excommu- 
nication. At last, wearied by the continued hos- 
tility of his enemies, Mr. Campbell determined 
to place himself beyond the bounds of their 
jurisdiction. He had received a cordial invita- 
tion to become a member of the Mahoning Asso- 
ciation, which embraced the Baptist churches of 
Eastern Ohio, and as he had already been cor- 
dially received by the preachers and churches 
of that region, he determined to accept. In 
order to make the change with as little 
friction as possible, he took a letter from the 
Brush Run Church, and with thirty others 
organized a new church at Wellsburg, Va., 



TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS 105 

Tvhich applied for membership, and was at 
once received in the Mahoning Association. 
Thus, in the month of August, 1823, was organ- 
ized the second church of the Reformation, and 
by this means Alexander Campbell escaped ex- 
communication from the Baptist Church, which 
would certainly have been his fate had he 
longer remained a member of the Redstone Asso- 
ciation. 



VII. 

"THE CHEISTIAN BAPTIST." 

Tn his early contributions to the secular news- 
papers, already mentioned, Alexander Camp- 
bell displayed a talent that was destined to 
become a most efficient agency in the dissemina- 
tion of truth. He could write in a clear, per- 
suasive style, that carried conviction. It was 
several years, however, before he thought of 
using the printed page in the extension of the 
cause he had espoused. His appreciation of the 
power of the press seems to have dated from 
his debate with Walker. Such was the interest 
manifested in that discussion, that it was pub- 
lished in a volume of some four hundred pages, 
was widely read, running through several edi- 
tions, and was instrumental in awakening an 
earnest spirit of inquiry among the thoughtful 
people of all creeds. 

The success attending this published debate, 
and the numerous inquiries it brought him con- 
cerning his views, led Mr. Campbell, for the first 
time, to cherish a hope that something might be 
done on a more extended scale to restore relig- 
ious society to its primitive simplicity. He now 

(106) 



THE CHRISTIAN BAPTIST 107 

began to realize the greatness of his religious 
discoveries, and felt himself called to a wider 
field. Traveling up and down the country on 
his trusted horse, he preached wherever he could 
get men to listen, a crusade against religious 
corruptions, with all the fire and zeal of a Peter 
the Hermit. These early excursions took him 
through portions of Pennsylvania, Virginia and 
Ohio; and wherever he went his plea was for the 
new order of things, or rather a return to the 
faith, customs and practices of the apostolic 
church. 

The demands of so wide a field called for new 
methods in its cultivation; so he resolved to 
call to his assistance the printing press. He 
now conceived of a work in monthly parts, to be 
devoted to the interests of the reformation. 
The design was warmly approved by his friends. 
Only as regards the title of the work was there 
difference of opinion. Mr. Campbell, and those 
who shared his convictions at that time, occupied 
a peculiar position. Though identified with the 
Baptist Church, they were earnestly pleading 
for a broader, undenominational fellowship. As 
a matter of expediency the title " Christian Bap- 
tist " was agreed upon, and, in the spring of 
1823, a prospectus was issued announcing the 
new monthly, the first number of which appeared 
on July 4, of that year. Its appearance marks 



108 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

an era in religious history. Its like had never 
been seen in current religious literature. 

" The Christian Baptist," said its editor, 
" shall espouse the cause of no religious sect, 
excepting that ancient sect ' called Christians 
first at Antioch.' Its sole object shall be the 
eviction of truth, and the exposing of error in 
doctrine and practice. The editor, acknowledg- 
ing no standard of religious faith or works other 
than the Old and New Testament, and the latter 
as the only standard of the religion of Jesus 
Christ, will, intentionally at least, oppose noth- 
ing which it contains and recommend nothing 
which it does not enjoin. Having no worldly 
interest at stake from the adoption or reproba- 
tion of any articles of faith or religious practice, 
having no gift nor religious emolument to blind 
his eyes or to pervert his judgment, he hopes to 
manifest that he is an impartial advocate of 
truth." 1 

A glance at the subjects treated in the early 
numbers of the "Christian Baptist" reveals its 
independent, aggressive spirit. There are essays 
written in the editor's trenchant style on "The 
Christian Religion," giving in comprehensive 
outline the sublime purpose and plan of human 
redemption; on "The Clergy," rebuking in 
strong terms their " unwarranted presumption, 
bigotry, sectarianism and venality; " on "Eccle- 

1 Memoirs, Vol. 2, p. 50. 



THE CHRISTIAN BAPTIST 109 

siastical Characters, Councils, Creeds and Sects,' ' 
unfolding the history of the apostasy of the 
church, and the origin of its weakening divi- 
sions; on "The Restoration of the Ancient 
Order of Things," portraying the customs and 
practices of the Church of the New Testament; 
and on " Christian Union," pointing to the New 
Testament basis as the only practical ground of 
unity. 

It was a veritable John the Baptist in relig- 
ious journalism. Its continuous message was a 
call to repentance to erring ecclesiasts. It at 
once fearlessly attacked whatever it conceived to 
be a corruption of, or departure from, the New 
Testament standard; and it fell like a fire-brand 
into hundreds of widely scattered communities, 
and everywhere provoked a spirit of inquiry. 

To the new duties of editor, without abating 
in the least his labors along other lines, Mr. 
Campbell now devoted himself with character- 
istic energy. That he might take entire super- 
vision of the work, he set up a printing estab- 
lishment on his farm on the Buffalo. Purchas- 
ing the necessary supplies, erecting a suitable 
building, and engaging the help of practical 
printers, he became, at once, proprietor, business 
manager, editor, leading contributor, proof- 
reader, mailing clerk, all in one. This involved 
no small amount of labor, for in the first seven 
years the little country printing-office issued of 



110 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

his own works more than forty thousand vol- 
umes. To get an adequate idea of his great 
industry at this period, it must be remembered, 
that, in addition to the labors incident upon his 
publishing enterprise, he continued regularly to 
preach, attended to an extensive correspondence, 
and gave personal attention to the improvement 
and cultivation of a large farm. 

It was in connection with the publication of 
the "Christian Baptist" that the name Beth- 
any was attached to the spot hallowed by the 
memory of this great man. The earlier issues 
of the magazine were carried to the neighboring 
village of West Liberty, four miles distant, for 
mailing. As its circulation increased, this was 
found to be inconvenient, and, at the solicitation 
of Mr. Campbell, a post-office was established in 
his own residence, to which he gave the name 
Bethany. He was himself appointed the first 
postmaster, and continued to hold the office for 
thirty years, through successive administrations 
and political changes. 

During the preparation of the early numbers 
of the "Christian Baptist," Mr. Campbell was 
arranging the preliminaries for another public 
discussion. Mr. McCalla, a Presbyterian preacher 
of Kentucky, in the spring of 1823, intimated his 
willingness to engage Mr. Campbell in a discus- 
sion of the question of baptism, that he might 
retrieve the injury which had been done his 



THE CHRISTIAN BAPTIST 111 

cause by Mr. Walker's admitted failure. Mr. 
Campbell, having ascertained his standing, 
agreed to meet him, and arrangement was made 
for the discussion to take place in October, in 
the town of Washington, Ky. The low stage of 
the Ohio River necessitated Mr. Campbell's 
making the entire journey on horseback. 

Here, as in his former discussion, the entire 
bearing of the baptismal question was carefully 
canvassed. It is not necessary, at this point, to 
go into the details of the arguments pro and con. 
Each controverted point was hotly contested in 
the presence of a vast assemblage, which had 
been drawn together by Mr. Campbell's reputa- 
tion and their interest in the question at issue. 
During this discussion, which lasted seven days, 
in addition to his defense of t the scriptural mode 
and subject of baptism, Mr. Campbell gradually, 
for the first time, unfolded its design and true 
place in the economy of the Gospel, though it 
was several years before any use was made of it 
in urging obedience to Christ. 

While the Baptist ministers, who were in at- 
tendance at the debate, recognized him as their 
strongest champion and were enthusiastic over 
his defense of their favorite tenet, he did not 
desire to enjoy a larger share of their good will 
than he deserved. Consequently, during the 
progress of the discussion, he met a company of 
them and stated the grounds he held which 



112 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

might not be acceptable to them. From the first 
three numbers of the "Christian Baptist," which 
he carried with him, he read extracts from his 
essays, boldly setting forth his reformatory 
views. So favorably were they received, at that 
time, that he was invited to extend his tour 
among the Baptist churches of Kentucky. 

The untiring effort of Mr. Campbell during 
these years, as we have seen, was for the libera- 
tion of Christian society from the thralldom of 
human tradition and priestly domination. He had 
long since come to believe that the only hope of 
uniting Christendom was through a return to the 
primitive order, as found in the New Testament. 
He saw only one way to the accomplishment of 
such a result, that was to put men really and 
fully into the possession of the Bible. Martin 
Luther had unchained the Scriptures and given 
them to the people in their own tongues. Chil- 
lingworth had declared that " the Bible and the 
Bible alone is the religion of Protestants." But 
it was Mr. Campbell's mission to put the people 
into actual possession of the Bible, by convinc- 
ing them that it could be understood, and induc- 
ing them to study it. 

Through the pages of the "Christian Bap- 
tist" he sought continually to bring the Bible 
before the people. Instead of creeds, he held 
aloft the Word of God, and urged men to read 
it for themselves. He believed that if it was 



THE CHRISTIAN BAPTIST 113" 

given as a revelation from God to man, the 
people ought to be able to understand it. He 
taught that by employing the same common- 
sense methods in its study that were used in 
dealing with other books, it would beam with in- 
telligent meaning. Some hints of his are so 
essential to a knowledge of the revealed truth of 
the Gospel that I transcribe them from the pages 
of the " Christian Baptists:" 

" Begin with Matthew's Gospel; read the 
whole of it at one reading or two; mark on the 
margin every sentence you think you do not 
understand. Turn back again, read it a second 
time in less portions at once than in the first 
reading; cancel such marks as you have made 
which noted passages which on the first reading 
appeared to you dark or difficult to understand, 
but on the second reading opened to your view. 
Then read Mark, Luke and John in the same 
manner. After having read each evangelist in 
this way, read them all in succession a third 
time. At this time you will be able, no doubt, 
to cancel many of your marks. Then read the 
Acts of the Apostles, which is the key to all the 
Epistles; then the Epistles in a similar manner. 
Always before reading an Epistle, read every 
thing said about the people addressed in the 
Epistle, which you find in the Acts of the 
Apostles. . . In pursuing this plan, we have 
no doubt, in getting even three times through 



114 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

the New Testament, that you will learn much 
more of the Christian religion than a learned 
divine could teach you in seven years." 1 

In a course so radical and so at variance with 
accepted notions as that now advocated by Mr. 
Campbell through the columns of the " Christian 
Baptist," it was but natural that he should 
awaken the bitter opposition of the ministry. 
The fire of his enemies resounded from every 
quarter. In response to their attacks, he thun- 
dered the authority of the Word of God. The 
severity of his strictures upon the clergy at that 
period may seem a little harsh to our ears. But 
we must remember that religious conditions 
differed widely from those with which we are 
familiar, and that when he spoke in condemna- 
tion of the clergy, he meant that class who " as- 
sumed to be the solely authorized expositors of 
the sacred oracles, denying to the people the 
right or the power of comprehending or inter- 
preting the Scripture for themselves." It was 
against these false assumptions, which he felt to 
be the most serious barriers to Gospel triumph, 
that he uttered his most withering denuncia- 
tions. 

"We are convinced," he wrote, "fully con- 
vinced that the whole head is sick and the whole 
heart faint, of modern fashionable Christianity." 
Feeling that the " clerical machinery," as he 

1 Memoirs, Vol. 2, p. 96. 



THE CHRISTIAN BAPTIST 115 

called it, was responsible for the unfortunate 
condition of religious society, Mr. Campbell 
could scarcely find terms strong enough to ex- 
press his disapproval of the methods by which 
the whole system was maintained. Hence it was 
that he attacked, as unworthy of the religion of 
the lowly Nazarene, " costly meeting-houses and 
organs, selling pews, missionary wheels and 
boxes," and various other features employed as 
adjuncts to sectarian growth. 

In his opposition to sectarianism, nothing that 
contributed to its success escaped his denuncia- 
tion. He was even for a time led to condemn 
Sunday-schools, missionary, educational and Bible 
societies, because as then conducted, he thought 
they fostered the denominational spirit. So 
radical were his views at this time that his own 
friends became alarmed. They feared that he 
would defeat the noble enterprise in which he 
was engaged by " overstepping the fixed bound- 
aries of truth;" that in hastening out of Baby- 
lon, he was about to run past Jerusalem. They 
frankly told him of his error, and urged a milder 
and more conciliatory course, a suggestion which 
at a later period he seemed disposed to adopt. 

The effect of the "Christian Baptist" was 
almost magical. It, of course, met with the most 
bitter denunciation from those whose authority 
it attacked. Pastors forbade their flocks reading 
it, and it was treated as an incarnation of evil. 



116 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

But it found a wide reading and ready accept- 
ance among another class. Many there were, 
who, wearied with the denominational strife, 
and restive under ecclesiastical denomination, 
awaited a prophet whose aim was spiritual eman- 
cipation, and whose strong and fearless leader- 
ship they could trust. To such the " Christian 
Baptist" was a welcome visitor. Copies acci- 
dentally falling into the hands of earnest in- 
quirers led to conviction. Thus as early as 1824, 
James Challen, a talented young student, was led 
to espouse the cause advocated by the "Chris- 
tian Baptist;" and about the same time P. S. 
Fall and D. S. Burnett, both gifted defenders of 
the faith, joined the ranks of the reformers. 
That first generation of pioneer preachers, whose 
names were household words with our fathers, 
were largely led to join with Mr. Campbell in his 
efforts to restore the primitive church through 
the pages of the " Christian Baptist." No 
single agency employed in the advocacy of the 
movement was ever productive of wider or more 
lasting results. So great was the demand for it 
at a later period, that it was republished in an 
abridged form, and has since run through several 
editions. To-day no stronger or better state- 
ment of the fundamental principles advocated 
by the Christian Church can be found than in 
the pages of the " Christian Baptist." 

Mr. Campbell's success as an editor was far 



THE CHRISTIAN BAPTIST 117 

beyond his expectations. While as late as 1825, 
only three churches, those at Brush Run, Pitts- 
burg and Wellsburg, had accepted his restora- 
tion ideas, the leaven had been planted over a 
wide section, and had already begun to work. A 
spirit of inquiry was being awakened, and many, 
like those of Berea, were " searching the Script- 
ures daily, whether those things were so." 



VIII. 

RELIGIOUS DISSENSIONS. 

Tt had never been the purpose of Alexander 
Campbell to become the founder of another 
religious society, and this denial he now repeated 
with emphasis. " I have no idea of adding to the 
catalogue of new sects," he wrote in the " Chris- 
tian Baptist" of 1826. " I labor to see sectari- 
anism abolished and all Christians of every 
name united upon the one foundation upon 
which the apostolic church was founded. To 
bring Baptists and Pedo-baptists to this is my 
supreme end." 

In this great movement toward unity, he had 
hoped to see the Baptists take the initiative. 
Notwithstanding his experiences with the Red- 
stone Association, he had come to hold them in 
high esteem, and to regard them as nearer the 
primitive pattern than any other religious de- 
nomination. "I hope," he wrote, "I will not 
be accused of sectarian partiality, when I avow 
my conviction that the Baptist society have as 
much liberality in their views, as much of the 
ancient simplicity of the Christian Church, as 

much of the spirit of Christianity about them, 

(118) 



RELIGIOUS DISSENSIONS 119 

as are to be found among any other people." In 
his assault upon the " clergy " he was careful to 
distinguish between those whom he included in 
his denunciation and the " ministers of the Bap- 
tist and other independent churches." These, 
with few exceptions, he had found to be con- 
scientious and fair-minded men. 

But he did not let his admiration for this peo- 
ple blind his eyes to their imperfections. He 
was frank to declare: "That there is in the 
views and practices of this large and widely-ex- 
tended community a great need of reformation 
and of a restoration of the ancient order of 
things, few will contradict." That he might 
lead them into clearer views of the Gospel now 
consumed all his energies. With this aim he 
felt justified in continuing his connection with 
the Baptist Church, and through it achieving his 
fond desire of the union of Christ's followers on 
a broad, scriptural basis. " I do intend," he 
said, " to continue in connection with this peo- 
ple, so long as they will permit me to say what I 
believe, to teach what I am assured of, and to 
censure what is amiss in their views and prac- 
tices." 

At this period Mr. Campbell was very much 
encouraged with the progress of reform senti- 
ments. In his extended tours among the Baptist 
churches of Ohio and Kentucky, he was every- 
where well received. Large and enthusiastic 



120 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

audiences listened daily to his plea, and often to 
a late hour at night he was beset by " crowds of 
anxious inquirers, who sought religious informa- 
tion and counsel." Here and there churches 
avowed their determination henceforth to be 
guided by the Bible alone, and many of the lead- 
ing preachers of the denomination were earnest- 
ly searching the Scriptures " whether these 
things were so." As an example of the curious 
regard in which Mr. Campbell was then held, we 
quote from John Smith, afterward a most suc- 
cessful advocate of the reformation in Kentucky. 
Upon his first meeting with Mr. Campbell, 
he said: "I then felt as if I wanted to sit down 
and look at him for one hour, without hearing a 
word from any one. I wanted to scan him who 
had been so much talked of, and who had, in the 
' Christian Baptist ? and in his debates, intro- 
duced so many new thoughts into my mind." 

Cheered by his hearty reception by the Baptist 
churches, and by the progress of liberal views 
among them, Mr. Campbell was encouraged to 
write: " In one thing they may appear, in time 
to come, proudly singular and pre-eminently dis- 
tinguished. Mark it well. Their historian, in 
the year 1900, may say, We are the only people 
who would tolerate, or ever did tolerate, any per- 
son to continue as a reformer or restorer among 
us. While other sects excluded all who would 
have enlarged their views and exalted their vir- 



BELIGIOUS DISSENSIONS 121 

lues, while every Jerusalem in Christendom 
stoned its own prophets, and exiled its own best 
friends, and compelled them to set up for them- 
selves, we constitute the only exception of this 
kind in the annals of Christianity, — nay in the 
annals of the world." x 

That he might hasten the progress of reform 
and awaken a new interest in the study of the 
Scripture, Mr. Campbell undertook the work, in 
the winter of 1826, of preparing and publishing 
a new version of the New Testament. To this 
task every spare moment was devoted. While 
the work was largely a compilation from George 
Campbell's new version of the Gospels, Dodd- 
ridge's translation of the Acts of the Apostles 
and Revelation, and MacKnight's free rendering 
of the Epistles, he made a careful revision of 
the whole, comparing the various renderings and 
selecting the one which seemed more clear and 
accurate. To these, besides a valuable introduc- 
tion to New Testament study, he contributed 
such hints and aids as might be conducive to a 
correct understanding of the sacred writings, 
and published them in a volume of five hundred 
pages, entitled "The Living Oracles." His pur- 
pose was to foster a spirit of inquiry, as well as 
to aid in an understanding of the message of 
JRevelation. 

As was to be expected, this version was re- 

1 Memoirs, Vol. 2, p. 135. 



122 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

ceived with disfavor by Pedo-baptists generally, 
because in translating, instead of anglicizing, the 
wo^d for baptism, he left no ground or excuse 
for the prevailing practice. But it is doubtful if 
any version of the New Testament ever con- 
tained a clearer or more faithful revelation of 
the teachings of Christ and his apostles. 

A series of events now transpired which 
changed the religious situation, blasted Mr. 
Campbell's hopes of a continued reformation 
within the borders of the Baptist Church, and 
set him adrift with a large following, but with- 
out denominational ties. 

The first storm-center was the old Redstone 
Association. Its ruling spirits had never ceased 
to cherish a feeling of hostility toward Mr. 
Campbell. The appearance of the " Christian 
Baptist" had intensified this feeling. Some of 
its representatives now traveled up and down 
the country, publicly attacking him and grossly 
misrepresenting his teachings. He was charged 
with denying the necessity of the new birth and 
with rejecting heart-religion. He was de- 
nounced as a breeder of heresy and sedition, and 
undeserving of fellowship or recognition among 
Baptist churches. 

At the annual meeting of the Association in 
1827, the crisis came. Mr. Campbell had been 
appointed corresponding messenger from the 
Mahoning to the Redstone Association that year. 



RELIGIOUS DISSENSIONS 12a 

As his letter of greeting made no reference to 
the Philadelphia Confession, the accepted stand- 
ard of the Baptist Church, it was determined 
by his enemies that he should not be received. 
Upon a canvass it was'f ound that they could rally 
to their support but ten of the twenty-three 
churches of the Association; but with these ten 
they ventured the hazardous experiment of ex- 
cluding the other thirteen, and organized them- 
selves upon the basis of their cherished creed. 
The thirteen churches denied admission then 
formed a new association, declaring as the sec- 
ond article of their constitution, "We receive 
the Scriptures as the only rule of faith and prac- 
tice to all the churches of Christ.' ' Thus began 
the conflict which within the next three years re- 
sulted in the complete separation of Baptists 
and those who accepted the principles of the 
reformation. 

In the same year a meeting was held by the 
Mahoning Association which was destined to 
lead to important consequences. At that meet- 
ing a young man, Walter Scott by name, an 
ardent admirer of Alexander Campbell, who had 
entered heartily into all his plans, was appointed 
to do itinerant preaching among the churches of 
the Western Reserve, Ohio. The Baptist 
churches at that time, with few exceptions, were 
in a languishing condition. Conversions were 
few, and indifference widespread. The seven- 



124 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

teen churches which comprised the Association 
reported only sixteen converts to Christ for the 
year 1825. But the entrance of Walter Scott 
into the evangelistic field marked a new era for 
the churches of this section. A tidal wave of 
revival was at once set in motion, which con- 
tinued to attend Mr. Scott's ministry wherever 
he went, and by the close of his first year he was 
able to report a thousand converts. 

The preaching of this young man marks a new 
era in modern evangelism. He had studied the 
Word of God long and prayerfully. Its message 
and method had smitten his heart, and he re- 
solved, at the beginning of his evangelistic 
labors, to try the experiment of preaching the 
Gospel according to the New Testament model, 
urging men to accept Christ upon the terms 
offered by Peter on the day of Pentecost. As 
might be expected, a message so antagonistic to 
the prevailing instruction of the times, would 
soon encounter opposition and misrepresenta- 
tion. Preachers warned their congregations 
against him. He was charged with preaching 
water salvation, and ignoring essential spiritual 
changes. In spite of this opposition, he was 
well received by the Baptist churches forming 
the Association for which he labored. Wherever 
he went among them they speedily fell into his 
way of thinking, and most of them abandoned 
their creeds and customs for the simple practice 



RELIGIOUS DISSENSIONS 125' 

of the New Testament, though still affiliating 
with the Baptist Church. 

The success of Walter Scott in the Western 
Reserve secured him an invitation to the Bap- 
tist Church at Sharon, Pa., which proved the 
second storm-center of the religious dissensions 
that threatened the peace of Baptist society. 
The labors of Mr. Scott at this place were at- 
tended with his usual success. On a simple pro- 
fession of their faith in Jesus as the Son of God, 
they were baptized in the river near by. But no 
sooner had the evangelist left, than the conser- 
vative portion of the church determined to reject 
the new converts as having failed to conform to 
Baptist usages, and to exclude from their fellow- 
ship all who shared in Mr. Scott's way of think- 
ing. These members, deprived of religious fel- 
lowship, formed a new organization on broad, 
New Testament principles and independent of 
the jurisdiction of any religious association. 

The feeling against Mr. Campbell's friends 
and sympathizers now became so intense in 
many sections that those of the old Baptist faith 
and order refused longer to fellowship them. 
In the spring of 1830, the Third Baptist Church 
of Philadelphia excluded all Mr. Campbell's fol- 
lowers, who at once organized themselves into 
an independent congregation. The work thus 
begun spread rapidly. Documents denouncing 
Mr. Campbell's writings and branding him as a 



126 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

heretic, were diligently circulated by partisan 
bigotry, and every means used to destroy his 
influence with the churches. As a result, Bap- 
tists were led almost everywhere to separate 
themselves from the reformers. Unable to check 
the spirit of discord and intolerance that now 
swept the church, Mr. Campbell calmly awaited 
the results, at the same time disavowing any 
responsibility for the dissensions which he 
lamented. In reply to the attacks of his ene- 
mies, he wrote: 

"If there be a division, gentlemen, you will 
make it, not I; and the more you oppose us with 
the weight of your censure, like the palm tree, we 
will grow the faster. I am for peace, for union, 
for harmony, for co-operation with all good men. 
But I fear you not; if you fling firebrands, 
arrows and discords into the army of the faith, 
you will repent it, not we. You will lose 
influence, not we. We covet not persecution, 
but we disregard it. We fear nothing but 
error, and should you proceed to make divi- 
sions, you will find that they will reach much 
farther than you are aware, and that the time is 
past when an anathema from an association will 
produce any other effect than contempt from 
some and a smile from others." 1 

The result was as Mr. Campbell had predicted. 
The principles of the reformation were much 

1 Memoirs, Vol. 2, p. 323. 



RELIGIOUS DISSENSIONS 127 

more widely spread than his defamers had ex- 
pected. In some instances churches were rent 
asunder; in others entire churches were excluded 
from fellowship with Baptist Associations; and 
in others entire Associations ceased to call them- 
selves Baptist. This was notably true of the 
churches of the Western Reserve. When the 
Mahoning Association met in the autumn of 
1830, such had been the leavening influence of 
Walter Scott's evangelism that it unanimously 
resolved that it should never meet again as " an 
advisory council;" and so ceased connection with 
the Baptist Church, which had already, as a 
denomination, repudiated all who were tinctured 
with the principles advocated by Alexander 
Campbell and his co-laborers. From this point 
dates the separate existence of the religious 
body known as the Disciples of Christ, of whose 
aims and views we shall have something to say 
in another chapter. 

In the midst of the religious strife which led 
to the separation of Baptists and Disciples, a 
great sorrow flung its shadow across Mr. Camp- 
bell's pathway. He had always been attached 
to his home by the strongest ties. Though called 
away from its enjoyment much of the time by 
the growing demands of the cause in which he 
labored, it was to its hallowed precinct that he 
returned to find a haven from the storms that 
raged about him. But in 1827, while calumny 



128 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

and misrepresentation were ringing on every 
side, his ears were made deaf to all in the sor- 
row that came into his heart in the loss of his 
companion. After sixteen years of happiness 
his home was left desolate. Forbidden to sor- 
row as those who have no hope, he accepted his 
loss with Christian resignation, but his sadness 
found expression in the subdued spirit which for 
the time characterized all his utterances; and it 
continued to be a beautiful custom of his to com- 
memorate his first marriage on each recurring 
anniversary. 

A figure so commanding as Mr. Campbell had 
now become could not fail to attract attention 
outside of religious circles. In his case public 
recognition was not wanting. Though often 
solicited, only once did he venture on the stormy 
sea of politics. That was in 1829. Steps were 
being taken toward the revision of the Consti- 
tution of the State in which he lived. He 
was urged by his friends to become a candidate 
for a seat in the Virginia Constitutional Conven- 
tion. The people of West Virginia felt that 
undue power was given to, and exerted by, the 
slaveholders of the eastern part of the State. 
It was desirable that the constitution be so 
amended as to guarantee equal rights to the 
non-slaveholders of the western portion. Mr. 
Campbell was recognized, by those acquainted 
with him, as one capable of faithfully and pow- 



RELIGIOUS DISSENSIONS 129 

erfully representing their interests, and at last 
consented to become their candidate, only on 
condition that he would not be required to take 
the stump. 

Once in the field, it was discovered that a com- 
bination was being formed to secure his defeat. 
In the emergency he consented to deliver a num- 
ber of addresses. In this new role he showed a 
capacity which, had he chosen to devote himself 
to politic?, would have secured him almost any 
office in the gift of the people. 

"His large and varied knowledge, his love of 
all mankind, his inimitable powers of conversa- 
tion, even sporting and playing in the most easy 
and graceful way with subjects from the most 
abstruse to the simplest, — these would have 
endeared him to the great commonalty, and per- 
petually have secured him tbeir enthusiastic 
support. Thus his elevation to the highest place 
in the gift of the people would have been cer- 
tain. And once high in power, the masterly 
manner in which he would have handled the 
great questions of state, would have made him 
the idol of his own people and the admiration of 
all civilized nations." 1 

As the result of a spirited canvass he was 
elected; and as a member of a distinguished 
body which numbered among its representatives 
James Madison and James Monroe, former 

9 1 Lard's Quarterly, vol. 3, p. 257. 



130 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

Presidents of the United States, he rendered 
valuable service. In the face of the growing 
arrogance of the slave power, he was unable to 
secure for his constituents the recognition they 
demanded; ' but his able presentation of their 
cause secured him wide recognition and esteem 
at a time when his religious enemies were seek- 
ing by means of vituperation and slander to 
secure his downfall. 

True to his position as a minister, he did not 
allow political interests to obscure his religious 
position. He rather endeavored to make his 
position as a member of the convention con- 
tribute to the furtherance of the cause of the 
kingdom, which was dearer to him than any 
earthly interest. In private conversation with 
distinguished persons of the convention, and in 
public addresses on every Lord's day during his 
stay in Richmond, he urged the one great theme 
of the primitive Gospel, thus contributing, 
in large measure, to the success which soon 
attended the movement throughout the State. 



IX. 

THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 

T I 7e have now traced the career of Alexander 
Campbell to a point where the largest suc- 
cess awaited his effort. In 1830, when the doors 
of Baptist fellowship closed behind him and 
those who shared his convictions, he was in the 
zenith of his great powers. Whether held in 
esteem or regarded with hatred, he was every- 
where looked upon as an extraordinary man, and 
wherever he went multitudes thronged to hear 
him. 

While yet in the prime of life, Mr. Campbell 
was permitted to witness the fruit of his own 
planting in the triumph of a great principle. 
Twenty years of tireless effort had resulted in 
widespread interest in the cause for which he 
pleaded. Religious communions, reproducing 
the essential characteristics of the primitive 
church as revealed in the New Testament, 
sprang up into independent congregations, 
wherever his plea for the restoration of primi- 
tive Christianity had been carried. Calls now 
came to him from all parts of the country for 

(131) 



132 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

instruction and guidance in the principles which 
he advocated. Men often came hundreds of 
miles to see him, always returning convinced of 
the correctness of his views. These calls were 
often answered by long tours, which, in the ab- 
sence of railroads, were attended by many hard- 
ships, but contributed largely to the success of 
the movement. The extent of his labors as the 
apostle of undenominational Christianity may be 
gathered from a brief extract from one of his 
letters : 

" It has been with me a sermon of three 
months' continuance, interrupted only by the 
stages of a journey of some three thousand miles. 
My public addresses have been in Virginia thirty- 
four, in South Carolina twenty-three, in Georgia 
twenty, in South Alabama ten, besides some 
hundred fireside sermons almost as laborious as 
those in public assemblies." 

Like his venerable father, Mr. Campbell had 
shrunk from the responsibility of any further 
division of religious society. But now that it 
had been effected by the exclusion of his follow- 
ers from their old church relationship, his great 
labor was to secure their reorganization after the 
Divine Model, which he ever kept before him. 
This was no small task. Heterogeneous elements, 
representing the various schools of religious 
thought and the various forms of church polity, 
were brought together in many communities, 



THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH 133 

drawn by an intense desire to effect the unity of 
the church by a return to apostolic precedent 
and practice. But as men came out of their re- 
spective folds to unite on the one foundation, 
they were confronted by many difficult problems. 
There were questions of expediency, matters of 
opinion, forms of administration, to settle. 
Should they adopt the methods of their relig- 
ious neighbors or be totally unlike them? 
Should they have Sunday-schools and organized 
missionary effort, and other forms of religious 
co-operation? Or should they class these along 
with innovations of doctrine and practice 
against which the whole movement was a pro- 
test? 

To the solution of these questions, Mr. Camp- 
bell now applied himself, and, as heretofore, ap- 
pealed, wherever appeal was possible, to the 
only infallible guide known to him, the teachings 
of the divinely-inspired apostles. His concep- 
tion of the church as a divinely-authorized asso- 
ciation of believers is thus stated: "It is a 
society of disciples professing to believe the one 
grand fact, the Messiahship of Jesus, voluntarily 
submitting to his authority and guidance, having 
all of them in their baptism expressed their 
faith in him and their allegiance to him, and 
statedly meeting together in one place to walk in 
all his commandments and ordinances. This 
society, with its bishop or bishops and its dea- 



134 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

con or deacons, as the case may require, is per- 
fectly independent of any tribunal on earth 
called ecclesiastical." * 

Henceforth his mission was to watch and fos- 
ter the development of such a society, not as an 
authoritative leader, but as a friendly patron and 
adviser. 

The separation of Baptists and Disciples led 
Mr. Campbell to discontinue the " Christian 
Baptist," which, as the organ of the reformatory 
movement, had since 1823 accomplished so much 
in the spread of its principles. He now feared 
that the name of the paper would be given to 
the advocates of the reformation. Against all 
divisive and party designations he had contended 
from the beginning, and he desired to remove all 
possibility of such result. In the final number 
of the "Christian Baptist," issued July 5, 1830, 
he thus states his reason for its discontinuance: 

" I have commenced a new work and taken a 
new name for it on various accounts. Hating 
sects and sectarian names, I resolved to prevent 
the name of Christian Baptist from being fixed 
upon us, to do which efforts were making. It is 
true men's tongues are their own, and they may 
use them as they please, but I am resolved to 
give them no just occasion for nicknaming advo- 
cates for the ancient order of things." 2 

But in seeking to secure his followers against 

1 Memoirs, Vol. 2, p. 58. 2 Christian Baptist, p. 665. 



THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH 135 

the name Christian Baptists, Mr. Campbell was 
called to defend them against a party designation 
in every way more obnoxious to him. Recogniz- 
ing him as the leader of the movement which 
was everywhere rapidly winning favor with the 
people, his religious enemies sought to bring re- 
proach upon the cause which he advocated by 
branding it as Campbell ism and his followers as 
Campbellites. He modestly disclaimed the 
honor of being the founder of a religious denom- 
ination, and resented, with all the earnestness of 
his nature, the attempt to fasten his name upon 
the growing brotherhood which shared his con- 
victions. His answer to those guilty of this un- 
charitable designation was : 

"It is a nickname of reproach invented and 
adopted by those whose views, feelings and de- 
sires are all sectarian; who can not conceive of 
Christianity in any other light than an ism. 
These isms are now the real reproach of those 
who adopt them, as they are the intended re- 
proaches of those who originate and apply 
them. He that gives them when they are dis- 
claimed violates the express law of Christ. He 
speaks evil against his brother, and is accounted 
a railer and reviler, and placed along with the 
haters of God and those who have no lot in the 
kingdom of heaven. They who adopt them out 
of choice, disown the Christ and insult him; for 
they give the honor, which is due to him alone, 



136 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

to the creature of the devil, for all slander and 
detraction are of the creation of the devil. If 
Christians were wholly cast into the mold of the 
apostles' doctrine, they would feel themselves as 
much aggrieved and slandered in being called by 
any man's name as they would in being called a 
thief, a fornicator or a drunkard." * 

Mr. Campbell always contended that script- 
ural things should be spoken of in scriptural 
terms. It was his conviction that denomina- 
tional titles were more than half the cause of 
the continuance of party spirit. To the Script- 
ures, therefore, he went for a name for God's 
children. It was his desire that this name, in 
addition to being scriptural, should be compre- 
hensive enough to include all who love the Lord. 
He found in that ancient church, which he had 
taken as his model, various names applied ex- 
pressive of different relationships, but any of 
them broad enough to include the whole brother- 
hood of Christ. Because of their faith they were 
called Believers; because of their consecration 
and purity, Saints; in their relation to each 
other, Brethren; in their relation to the Great 
Teacher, Disciples; at Antioch, where the first 
Gentile church was established, Christians. Mr. 
Campbell preferred the name Disciples of Christ 
as the more humble appellation. Walter Scott, 
who shared in all his counsels, urged the name 

1 Christian Baptist, p. 451. 



THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH 137 

Christian as the more comprehensive, and better 
than any or all others describing the relation of 
the saint to the Savior. Mr. Campbell feared 
that the adoption of the name Christian, which 
had already been appropriated by a people 
regarded as denying the divinity of Christ, would 
make his brethren an object of undeserved re- 
proach and misrepresentation among the so- 
called orthodox churches. It was unfortunate 
that these good men could not have come to an 
agreement, and saved the interminable confusion 
that has since resulted from the interchangeable 
or local use of the names " Disciples of Christ," 
"Christians," "Churches of Christ," etc. 

These churches, meanwhile, by whatever des- 
ignation known, were multiplying with phe- 
nomenal rapidity. The proscriptive measures 
employed against them by the bitter partisan 
spirit of the times, proved an aid rather than a 
hindrance to the general diffusion of their prin- 
ciples among all parties, and led many from the 
various denominations to adopt the faith and 
doctrine of the primitive church. While not a 
few of the accessions to the newly-organized 
churches came from the ranks of other religious 
communions, the movement was attended by an 
almost " unprecedented success in the conversion 
of those who had not, as yet, embraced any of 
the religious systems of the day." These 
churches presented to modern religious society 



138 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

many distinctive features which had been ob- 
scured by the accumulated theological rubbish 
of the centuries. Mr. Campbell had said, **I 
believe if we would brush aside the creeds and 
traditions, we would find a simple and sufficient 
rule of faith in the New Testament." Acting on 
this suggestion, Christian communions sprang up 
wtiich, without a written creed, other than that 
inscribed by the pen of inspiration, have pre- 
sented and preserved a marvelous unity in the 
essential elements of Christian faith. 

A brief survey of the principles for which 
these churches contended in 1830 is here in 
place. In their plea for the restoration of prim- 
itive Christianity, neither Mr. Campbell nor 
those who joined him in his search for a script- 
ural ideal, rejected everything that their relig- 
ious neighbors held. In many vital and essential 
respects they were happy to find themselves 
in perfect agreement with other evangelical 
churches, not on the authority of their creeds 
and confessions, but on the authority of the 
Word of God. These points of agreement were 
more numerous, in fact, than the points of differ- 
ence, and embraced belief in the inspiration of 
the Holy Scriptures and their all-sufficiency, the 
divine excellency of Jesus as the Son of God, 
the personal and perpetual mission of the Holy 
Spirit, the sinfulness of the race and its need of 
regeneration, the necessity of faith, repentance 



THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH 139 

and a life of obedience, the perpetuity of bap- 
tism and the Lord's Supper, the obligation to 
fittingly observe the Lord's day, the recognition 
of the church of Christ as a divine institution, 
the fullness and freeness of salvation, the final 
punishment of the ungodly, etc. But the course 
which they had thus far pursued in their search 
for the old paths, led them to the discovery of 
other principles which have since constituted 
their distinctive peculiarities as a religious body. 

1. The churches thus organized were unalter- 
ably pledged to the cause of Christian union. 
They believed and taught, on the authority of 
the Word, that divisions among the children of 
God were sinful, that denominationalism pre- 
sented one of the greatest barriers to the tri- 
umph of truth, and that Christ's people must be 
united before any achievement commensurate 
with the greatness of his Gospel can be won. 
Every new church, therefore, became an added 
protest against existing division, and an added 
petition to Christ's prayer for the unity of the 
church. 

2. They urged the acceptance of the New 
Testament as the only authoritative standard of 
Christian doctrine and the essential bond of 
Christian union. Creeds as authoritative state- 
ments of belief had, it was shown, always been 
divisive. If Christian union were to become an 
accomplished fact, it was absolutely necessary. 



140 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

they held, that the Bible should be made "to 
displace from their position all human creeds, 
confessions of faith and formularies of doctrine 
and church government, as being not only unnec- 
essary, but really a means of perpetuating divi- 
sions." They felt assured that the New Testa- 
ment presented a practical basis of union, and 
that when we are satisfied "to simply believe in, 
and implicitly obey Christ," our unseemly divi- 
sions will disappear, or, to use the language of 
Thomas Campbell, the accomplishment of prac- 
tical unity in Christian fellowship awaited " the 
restoration of pure, primitive, apostolic Chris- 
tianity, in letter and spirit; in principle and 
practice." 

3. They recognized the simple confession of 
faith in Jesus as the Son of God and the world's 
Savior, as the only authorized statement of be- 
lief necessary to acceptance with God and mem- 
bership in the church of Christ. The New Testa- 
ment, which they accepted as their sole guide in 
all matters of religious duty, presented no other 
test of the correctness of a man's faith, than 
this simple statement of truth, sanctioned by 
Jesus and demanded by the apostles. Its one 
article, they contended, was "broad enough to 
take in every lover of Jesus, and narrow enough 
to exclude everyone who will not accept him as 
the divine Savior and Lord." This creed, given 
by Simon Peter in his confession of Christ and 



THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH 141 

elsewhere in the New Testament, is stated in the 
words, "I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the 
Son of the living God." Upon this confession 
of faith, when accompanied by a heartfelt desire 
to follow and obey the Christ, candidates were 
admitted to baptism and church membership. 

4. They adopted the customs and practices of 
the primitive church, as revealed in the inspired 
writings, not only because apostolic, but because 
presenting the only possible ground upon which 
the followers of Christ could unite. Having 
failed to find scriptural authority for the com- 
mon practice of infant baptism, they had from 
the first abandoned it. Unable to find authority 
for affusion as baptism in the practice or pre- 
cept of either Christ or his apostles, they be- 
came immersionists, a practice recognized by all 
evangelical Christians as valid baptism, and, 
therefore, presenting the only possible ground 
for the broader fellowship for which they con- 
tended. Finding in the apostolic age that the 
Lord's Table was spread in Christian assemblies 
on every first day of the week, they sought to 
adhere to the apostolic practice by a similar 
observance of this memorial feast. As respect 
to practical Christianity they enjoined " an entire 
conformity to the divine will, in heart as well as 
life," knowing that "nothing avails in Christ 
Jesus but a new creature," and that "without 
holiness no one shall see the Lord." 



142 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

A better statement of the views and practices 
of the Disciples cannot be found than in Mr. 
Campbell's own language in defense of the Bible 
as a sufficient standard of faith. 

"We preach," said he, "in the words of that 
book the Gospel as promulgated by the apostles 
in Jerusalem. We use in all important matters 
the exact words of inspiration. We command 
all men to believe, repent, and bring forth fruits 
worthy of reformation. We enjoin the same 
good works commanded by the Lord and by his 
apostles. We receive men of all denominations 
under heaven, of all sects and parties, who will 
make the good confession on which Jesus Christ 
builded his church. We propound that confes- 
sion of faith in the identical words of inspira- 
tion, so that they who avow it express a divine 
faith and build upon a consecrated foundation, 
a well-tried corner-stone. On a sincere confes- 
sion of this faith we immerse all persons, and 
then present them with God's own book as their 
book of faith, piety and morality. This is our 
most obnoxious offense against the partylsm of 
this age." 1 

One other characteristic of this newly-organ- 
ized body of disciples, deserving our notice, is the 
progressive spirit which from the very beginning 
was cherished by the friends of the movement. 
The moment they cast aside creeds and turned 

1 Campbell and Rice Debate, p. 783. 



THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH 143 

to the Bible, unrestricted by the narrow bound- 
aries of parties and sects, the great principles 
of the plan of redemption began to develop in 
succession. It would say little for the depth 
and perfection of the Bible, if, even with the 
acknowledged learning and talent of such a 
leader as Mr. Campbell, the whole system had 
been comprehended at once. Many surprising 
discoveries had been made since the little church 
at Brush Run had been organized on the Bible 
alone. The truth that first struck their atten- 
tion was the unity of the church. Next, consist- 
ency with their own principles led them into the 
waters of baptism; then, ten years later, to dis- 
cover from the Word the definite object of im- 
mersion, and later still they learned to proclaim 
the Gospel to sinners in terms which Peter and 
Paul would have employed. That the church of 
1830 had fathomed the depth or comprehended 
the fullness of divine wisdom, none for a moment 
claimed, but they rejoiced in their freedom from 
creed-barriers, which in other religious commun- 
ions had put a check to further progress. Thanks 
to their liberal Christian policy, the church has 
since been able to make rapid progress in the 
discovery and application of religious truth. 

The changed condition of the Disciples which 
followed their separation from the Baptists, de- 
manded a change in the character of their in- 
struction. The mission of the " Christian Bap- 



144 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

tist," as we have seen, had been to awaken men 
to the evils of sectarianism, to lead them out of 
Egyptian bondage to ecclesiastical tradition. 
But now that the lines had been drawn, and he 
and his followers were denied fellowship with 
every existing religious organization, a new bur- 
den was laid upon Mr. Campbell and his co-la- 
borers, that of gathering together their follow- 
ers into organized communions and instructing 
them in the principles of the Gospel. The time 
had come when the keynote must be develop- 
ment, a going on to perfection. So he deter- 
mined to start a new periodical, larger in size, 
different in character, and milder in tone. 

The name of this new journal, " The Millen- 
nial Harbinger," was expressive of Mr. Camp- 
bell's views regarding the coming millennial 
reign of Christ. The rapid spread of reforma- 
tory principles, his great success in combating 
infidelity and in correcting religious errors, led 
him to conceive of the millennial period as near 
at hand. This feeling was shared by Walter 
Scott and other of the pioneer preachers of the 
reformation. He did not at the time presume to 
fix upon any definite date, but as he advanced 
in years he became possessed of a conviction that 
the year 1866 would, in some way, usher in that 
period, and strangely enough, that was to him 
the year of the Lord's coming. 



THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH 145 

Through the columns of "The Millennial Har- 
binger," Mr. Campbell was able to sway by the 
power of his pen, as he had done by his persua- 
sive eloquence, the tide of religious conviction. 
Without abating a jot the importance of the 
principles advocated in his early editorial labors, 
he now unfolded those elements essential to 
higher development. Feeling that the success 
of the church would be measured by its mission- 
ary spirit, he in time became an advocate of mis- 
sionary enterprises, and was chosen president of 
the American Christian Missionary Society, the 
first missionary organization among the Disci- 
ples. 

Another problem that confronted Mr. Camp- 
bell, as new church organizations began to multi- 
ply, was the question of hymnology. The books 
then in use by other religious bodies contained 
sentiments not in accordance with the teachings 
of the New Testament. In his plea for pure 
speech, Mr. Campbell felt that the very hymns 
sung should breathe the spirit of New Testa- 
ment Christianity. He therefore set about to 
compile a hymn-book from which unscriptural 
sentiments should be excluded, and in 1835 gave 
to the public a volume of two hundred pages 
filled with such selections as were true to Gospel 
facts and Gospel terms. This work was subse- 
quently revised and enlarged, and before his 
10 



146 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

death transferred to the American Christian 
Missionaiy Society, and is the basis of the Chris- 
tian Hymnal still in use. To this collection he 
contributed several hymns himself which breathe 
his own lofty spirit of devotion. 



X. 

THE DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. 

*"Phe religious revival with which the century 
had opened, was checked while at its 
height, by the jealousies of contending religious 
parties. A state of religious apathy followed, 
which left the church powerless in the face of 
its foes. The prevailing indifference left the 
uncultivated soil to grow up in irreligion and 
unbelief. While churches wrangled over their 
creeds, the unconverted forsook the sanctuary; 
some to lament the departure of religious society 
from the revealed pattern which they found in 
their Bibles, and some to nurse their dissent into 
doubt, and doubt into unbelief. 

Growing out of the unseemly strife engendered 
by denominational differences, society was threat- 
ened by another reign of skepticism. Infidel 
clubs were organized and flourished in almost 
every community. Infidel lecturers carried on 
their propaganda of unbelief with a zeal worthy 
of a nobler cause. Everywhere, like Goliath, 
the}^ breathed defiance against " the army of the 
living God," and challenged her leaders to come 

(147) 



148 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

to the public defense of their creeds or acknowl- 
edge their ground irrational and untenable. 

Heretofore Alexander Campbell had been oc- 
cupied in delivering Christianity from its pro- 
fessed friends, but now that the work of restora- 
tion was fairly inaugurated, he marshaled all his 
resources to defend it from its open enemies. 
Few men were better fitted than he for such a 
task. Abandoning the outer defenses of theol- 
ogy, he established himself behind the impreg- 
nable fortress of revealed truth. He had no 
creed to defend but that ancient one which had 
withstood the onslaught of skepticism for eigh- 
teen hundred , years. He acknowledged no 
authority but the Holy Scriptures and its incar- 
nate Lord. 

But his was the courage, not only of one who 
feels himself on safe ground, but of one who has 
thoroughly trained himself for the conflict. 
" Infidelity was one of those subjects which he 
had thoroughly investigated. His complete mas- 
tery of all possible trains of skeptical thought, 
and the comprehensiveness and penetrating 
power of his mind, unequaled in logical acumen, 
in ability to detect false arguments and discover 
true ones, and which could perceive in an instant 
the relations of proposition and proof, gave him 
an extraordinary power in such discussions which 
naturally sought every suitable opportunity to 
exert itself." He, accordingly, took peculiar 



THE DEFENDER OF THE FAITH 149 

pleasure in meeting the champions of unbelief, 
and never failed to win the admiration of 'be- 
lievers of all creeds by his able defense of the 
common Faith. 

The beginning of Mr. Campbell's defense of 
Christianity against the skepticism of the day 
was through the columns of the " Christian Bap- 
tist." He at once made his magazine a forum, 
upon which men might freely present their diffi- 
culties and express their views, with a guarantee 
of fair and candid treatment from its editor. In 
this he won a favorable hearing from a large 
class who had not been able to accept the con- 
clusions of current theology, or to choose be- 
tween the creeds of contending parties, and 
was often able to remove the supposed obstacles 
to belief. 

In 1828, Mr. Campbell was confronted by an 
antagonist worthy of his steel, in the person of 
Robert Owen, the acknowledged champion of 
infidelity, both in this country and Great Britain. 
Mr. Owen was a Scotch freethinker of wealth 
and scholarship. In 1824, he purchased a 
tract of land and established a community in 
Indiana, called New Harmony, for the applica- 
tion and development of his social views. A 
peculiar feature of this community was that all 
forms of religion should be rigidly excluded. 
Not content with building up an infidel com- 
munity, he went forth as the apostle of free- 



150 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

thought, preaching a crusade against Chris- 
tianity. During a series of lectures in New 
Orleans, early in 1828, Mr. Owen took occasion 
to challenge the clergy of that city to discuss 
with him the claims of the Christian religion. 

" I propose," he said, "to prove, as I have 
already attempted to do in my lectures, that all 
the religions of the world have been founded on 
the ignorance of mankind; that they are directly 
opposed to the never-changing laws of our 
nature; that they have been and are the real 
source of vice, disunion and misery of every de- 
scription; that they are now the only real bar to 
the formation of a society of virtue, of intelli- 
gence, of charity in its most extended sense, and 
of sincerity and kindness among the whole 
human family; and that they can no longer 
be maintained except through the ignorance of 
the mass of the people, and the tyranny of the 
few over that mass." x 

As no response came from those addressed, 
Mr. Owen was about to embark for the Old 
World, boasting that no man in America dared 
to debate with him. But as soon as the news of 
this defiant attitude of the great champion of 
infidelity reached Mr. Campbell, he published 
the challenge in the "Christian Baptist," and 
announced his readiness to accept it. "I have 
long wondered," he wrote, "why none of the 

1 Christian Baptist, p. 443. 



THE DEFENDER OF THE FAITH 151 

public teachers of Christianity has appeared in 
defense of the last, best hope of mortal man. 
If none but Christian philosophers composed 
this society, it might be well enough to let Mr. 
Owen and his scheme of things find their own 
level. But while a few of the seniors disdain to 
notice, or affect to disdain, his scheme of things, 
it ought not to be forgotten that thousands are 
carried away as chaff before the wind by the 
apparently triumphant manner in which Mr. 
Owen moves along . . . Belying on the 
Author, the reasonableness and the excellency 
of the Christian religion, I will engage to meet 
Mr. Owen any time within one year from this 
date, at any place equidistant from New Har- 
mony and Bethany, such as Cincinnati, Ohio, or 
Lexington, Ky., and will then and there under- 
take to show that Mr. Owen is utterly incompe- 
tent to prove the positions he has assumed, in a 
public debate." x 

Mr. Campbell was now recognized as the 
ablest representative of the Christian faith, and 
when his acceptance of Mr. Owen's challenge 
was made known, all felt that the Goliath of 
infidelity was now to meet his David. 

It was arranged that the debate should take 
place in Cincinnati in April, 1829. The occa- 
sion was a great one. The reputation of the 
disputants had created widespread interest. 

1 Christian Baptist, p. 443. 



152 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

Those who sympathized with Mr. Owen predicted 
a speedy overthrow of the Bible. Those who 
had heard Mr. Campbell felt that the cause of 
the Christian religion had fallen into good hands. 
The debate which followed brought out the 
strongest arguments of either side. Having at 
length exhausted his resources, Mr. Owen sat 
down, and Mr. Campbell was left to continue his 
argument without an opponent to reply, which 
he did in an address of twelve hours length upon 
the evidences of Christianity as a supernatural 
religion. It was at the close of this masterful 
defense of the Christian faith, that one not in 
sympathy with Mr. Campbell religiously, re- 
marked: " I have been listening to a man who 
seems as one who had lived in all ages." Mr. 
Owen had hitherto exerted a poisonous influence 
in society unchecked, but in this discussion he 
was completely routed, and not long afterward 
abandoned his infidel schemes and returned to 
Scotland. 

It was while arranging the preliminaries of 
this debate, that Mr. Owen visited Mr. Campbell 
at the Bethany mansion. During one of their 
excursions about the farm together, they came 
to the family burying-ground. Pausing for a 
moment among its tombs, Mr. Owen remarked: 

6 'There is one advantage I have over the 
Christian, — I am not afraid to die. Most Chris- 
tians have fear in death, but if some few items 



THE DEFENDER OF THE FAITH 153 

of my business were settled, I should be perfect- 
ly willing to die at any moment." 

" Well," Mr, Campbell replied, " you say } r ou 
have no fear in death; have you any hope in 
death?" 

" No," said Mr. Owen, after a solemn pause. 

" Then," rejoined Mr. Campbell, pointing to 
an ox standing near by, "you are on a level with 
that brute. He has fed till he is satisfied, and 
stands in the shade whisking off the flies, and 
has neither hope nor fear in death." 

It is related that after the debate Mr. Owen 
again accepted of the hospitality of his invinci- 
ble antagonist, was treated by him with great 
kindness, and urged to abandon infidelity and 
accept Christ as a Savior. The appeal melted 
Mr. Owen to tears; he buried his face in his 
hands, but still clung to that which he could not 
sustain. 

In this discussion Mr. Campbell did most 
valiant service for the cause of Christianity, and 
commanded the respect and admiration of the 
entire religious community, irrespective of party 
affiliation. For a time denominational differ- 
ences were forgotten, and all were disposed to 
recognize in him a defender of the common 
faith. An effective .check was put to the threat- 
ened spread of unbelief, and the debate, which 
was published, remained one of the strongest 
documents on Christian evidences, and is possi- 



154 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

bly the best reflection of the versatile mind of 
the great advocate of primitive Christianity in 
the zenith of his power. 

His manly, courteous treatment of those who 
were skeptical, won the respect even of the pro- 
fessed enemies of Christianity. They flocked to 
hear him, were brought under conviction by his 
fair-minded, unsectarian presentation of the 
claims of revealed religion, and many of them 
became obedient to the Gospel. As an evidence 
of the appreciation with which he was regarded 
by this class, he was invited by the skeptics of 
New York to address them on two successive 
evenings in their own Tammany Hall, and met 
them with such suavity and power, as " to draw 
praise from every lip and secure a vote of thanks 
from the very men whose air-built castle he de- 
molished." 

Mr. Campbell had hardly finished correcting, 
the proofs of his debate with Robert Owen, when 
he was called upon to encounter an enemy 
nearer home. Near the close of the year 1830, 
the Mormon delusion began its course in north- 
ern Ohio, and among its promoters was one of 
Mr. Campbell's lieutenants, Sydney Rigdon. 
Together with Joseph Smith he perpetrated the 
fraud of " The Lost Manuscript Found," which 
was published as the " Book of Mormon," and 
gathering a few credulous followers, organized 
them, on the basis of its teachings, into the 



THE DEFENDER OF THE FAITH 155 

" Church of the Latter Day Saints." Taking 
advantage of his former connection with the re- 
formatory work fostered by Mr. Campbell, 
Eigdon sought to lead away the churches of the 
vicinity in which he began his operations, and 
succeeded in making shipwreck of the cause in 
Kirtland, when Alexander Campbell paid a visit 
to that section of Ohio, exposed the shameless 
imposition, and put a stop to its progress, and 
soon had the satisfaction of witnessing the de- 
parture of Joseph Smith and his deluded follow- 
ers to the regions beyond. 

In the meantime, Mr. Campbell's energies were 
largely consumed in enlarging the borders and 
strengthening the defenses of the work now so 
auspiciously begun. At least six months of the 
year were spent away from home in extended 
tours, lecturing, preaching, organizing, and in 
endeavoring to supply that which was lacking in 
a newly-formed religious society. New churches 
were constantly being established. The plea for 
apostolic Christianity was springing up in unex- 
pected quarters. Misrepresentation and bitter 
prejudice were to be met, errors to be corrected, 
order restored. In meeting the varied demands 
made upon him, he could say with Paul, "Be- 
sides those things that are without, that which 
cometh upon me daily, the care of all the 
churches." 

Enlargement to the forces and influence of the 



156 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

Christian Church came, at this period, from 
another source. Earlier in his labors Mr. Camp- 
bell had come in touch with the leaders of a 
kindred movement, which had spread widely 
through the south. Its leading spirit was Barton 
W. Stone, formerly a Presbyterian minister. 
Like Mr. Campbell, he had turned from the 
Westminster Confession to the Bible, and had 
determined to accept, as his only guide in matters 
of religion, the Holy Scriptures. Like Mr. Camp- 
bell, he was led by its guidance to accept immer- 
sion as scriptural baptism, and to reject all 
human designations for the church, content with 
the simple name of Christian. 

In 1824, during one of Mr. Campbell's tours 
in Kentucky, these two reformers met for the 
first time. Two such spirits could not but be 
interested in each other. Their aims were one, 
though they differed slightly in some of their 
conclusions and methods. A cordial, friendly 
investigation of their views was begun. At first, 
like Luther and Zwingli, they seemed to be sep- 
arated by irreconcilable differences, but upon a 
closer inquiry these disappeared. The ultimate 
result we have in Mr. Stone's own words: " We 
plainly saw that we were on the same founda- 
tion, in the same spirit, and preached the same 
Gospel." Accordingly, in the early part of 
1832, the two bodies united throughout Ken- 
tucky, thus materially strengthening the forces 



THE DEFENDER OF THE FAITH 157 

and influence of primitive Christianity in that 
State, and exemplifying their plea for the union 
of God's children. 

In the autumn of 1836, Mr. Campbell was 
brought face to face with a religious antagonist 
from an entirely different quarter. In October 
of that year he had been invited to deliver an 
address before the College of Teachers of Cin- 
cinnati. As the public mind was already some- 
what exercised by the attempt of the Catholic 
Church to exclude the Bible from the public 
schools, he chose for his subject " Moral Cul- 
ture," ascribing the rapid march of modern civ- 
ilization to the spirit of inquiry awakened by 
the Protestant Reformation. Bishop Purcell, a 
Roman Catholic prelate, took strong exceptions 
to Mr. Campbell's lecture, declaring that the 
" Protestant Reformation had been the cause of 
all the contention and infidelity in the world." 
Mr. Campbell was not the man to allow such a 
misstatement of facts to pass unchallenged; so 
he informed the bishop that he was prepared to 
defend the cause of Protestantism against such 
misrepresentation in public discussion. As the 
bishop failed to signify his acceptance of this 
proposition, Mr. Campbell delivered another 
address, presenting six propositions, which he 
declared himself able at any time to sustain. 

So wrought up was the community over the 
attack of the Catholic Church upon American 



158 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

institutions, that its representative men did not 
feel disposed to let the matter end in that way. 
An appeal, signed by many of the prominent 
citizens of Cincinnati, was, therefore, presented 
to Mr. Campbell, urging him to a public expos- 
ure of the absurd claims and usages of the 
Roman Catholic Church, and to establish before 
the community the six propositions announced 
in his lecture. In reply, Mr. Campbell consented 
to sustain his position against Bishop Purcell, or 
any of the Catholic priesthood, providing only 
that time be allowed him to fulfill existing en- 
gagements. 

It was finally arranged that a seven days' joint 
discussion should take place between Mr. Camp- 
bell and Bishop Purcell in Cincinnati, beginning 
on January 13, 1837. In this discussion, one of 
the most important in which he ever engaged, 
Mr. Campbell took the aggressive side in the 
seven propositions considered, maintaining that, 

" 1. The Roman Catholic institution, some- 
times called the Holy Apostolic Church, is not 
now nor was she ever catholic, apostolic or holy, 
but is a sect in the fair import of that word, 
older than any other sect now existing; not the 
mother and mistress of all churches, but an 
apostasy from the only true, apostolic and cath- 
olic Church of Christ. 

"2. Her notion of apostolic succession is 
without any foundation in the Bible, in reason 



THE DEFENDER OF THE FAITH 159 

or in fact; an imposition of the most injurious 
consequences, built upon unscriptural and anti- 
scriptural traditions, resting wholly upon the 
opinions of interested and fallible men. 

"3. She is not uniform in her faith or united 
in her members, but mutable and fallible as any 
other sect of philosophy or religion, — Jewish, 
Turkish, or Christian, — a confederation of sects 
under a politico-ecclesiastic head. 

"4. She is the Babylon of John, the Man of 
Sin of Paul, and the Empire of the Youngest 
Horn of Daniel's sea-monster. 

"5. Her notions of purgatory, indulgences, 
auricular confession, remission of sins, transub- 
stantiation, supererogation, etc., essential ele- 
ments of her system, are immoral in their ten- 
dency and injurious to the well-being of society, 
religious and political. 

" 6. Notwithstanding her pretensions to have 
given us the Bible and faith in it, we are perfect- 
ly independent of her for our knowledge of that 
book and its evidences of a divine original. 

" 7. The Roman Catholic religion, if infalli- 
ble and unsusceptible of reformation, as alleged, 
is essentially anti-American, being opposed to the 
genius of all free institution, and positively sub- 
versive of them, opposing the general reading of 
the Scriptures and the diffusion of useful 
knowledge among the whole community, so es- 



160 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

sential to liberty and the permanency of good 
government." 1 

To this discussion Mr. Campbell brought his 
wonderful researches and extensive acquaintance 
with the history of the church, ancient and mod- 
ern. His early observations in priest-ridden 
Ireland, his inborn hatred of priestly arrogance, 
his high ground of observation, which enabled 
him to look beyond creed and party lines to a 
universal and untrammeled brotherhood in 
Christ, fitted him, as no other man of his day, to 
become the champion of Protestantism. A sen- 
tence or two in his opening address, reveal the 
grandeur of his purpose: "I appear before 
you at this time, in the good providence of our 
Heavenly Father, in defense of the truth, and in 
explanation of the great redeeming, regenerat- 
ing, ennobling principles of Protestantism, as 
opposed to the claims and pretensions of the 
Roman Catholic Church. I come not here to 
advocate the particular tenets of any sect, but 
to defend the great cardinal principles of Prot- 
estantism." 2 

In the discussion which followed, Mr. Camp- 
bell sustained his reputation and his cause to 
the satisfaction of the friends of Protestantism 
of whatever creed, and won the warmest com- 
mendation of all foes of Catholic arrogance. A 
public meeting was called to voice the sentiment 

1 Campbell and Purcell Debate, p. 7. 2 Ibid, p. 8. 



THE DEFENDER OF THE FAITH 161 

of the community. A series of resolutions was 
unanimously passed, complimenting in the high- 
est terms Mr. .Campbell's services, and declaring 
"that it is the unanimous opinion of this 
meeting that the cause of Protestantism has 
been fully sustained throughout the discussion." 

So deep and lasting was the impression of Mr. 
Campbell's defense of Protestantism and of an 
open and untrammeled Bible as the safeguard of 
the Republic, that at the next meeting of the 
College of Teachers at Cincinnati, a resolution 
was passed to the effect, " That,in the judgment 
of the College, the Bible should be introduced 
into every school, from the lowest to the highest, 
as a text-book." 

The debate was published, had an extensive 
sale, and presents, perhaps, the ablest defense 
of Protestantism in the English language. Him- 
self the last great protestant against religious 
error, it was fitting that upon him should fall 
the responsibility of defending a cause that had 
been purchased by the best blood of modern 
civilization. 



XI. 

A WISE MASTEE-BUILDER. 

A I 7e have witnessed, in these pages, the laying 
* * of the foundation of a religious move- 
ment deep and strong in the imperishable Word. 
Mr. Campbell had, from the beginning, insisted 
that every principle used in its construction 
should have the stamp of divine approval ; and 
now it was his daily concern that the super- 
structure should, in ever particular, be worthy 
of the foundation. In securing results commen- 
surate with his great undertaking, his energies 
were taxed to their utmost. 

From 1836 to 1840 he traveled extensively, 
looking after the progress of the work over a 
wide field. During the summer of 1836 he made 
an extended tour through the East, where the 
principles of the reformation were as yet imper- 
fectly understood, and where he was confronted 
by a spirit of conservatism that gave but feeble 
response to a plea, which, in the hospitable 
South and the enterprising West, was becoming 
a potent factor in religious society. From a 
flourishing town in New York he writes : 

" I have never been more busily engaged in 
(162) 



A WISE MASTER-BUILDER 163 

all my life than on the present tour. I am like 
one settling in a new country, where everything 
is to do. 1 have labored incessantly since I 
came into this State, disabusing the public mind, 
and teaching the disciples. There is a powerful 
opposition consolidated against the truth. ... 
I am really very tired and willing to seek repose, 
and could wish that my journey and my furlough 
were completed, but I must patiently bear the 
toil and endure the pain in hope of the reward. 
I have the great pleasure of enlightening many, 
of relieving the distressed and broken in spirit, 
and of making some rich in the faith and hope 
of Christ. I have left a good odor for Christ in 
every place." 1 

After bearing testimony to the truth in many 
cities of the East, he returned to his home 
among the hills of Virginia, having, during an 
absence of ninety-four days, traveled two thous- 
and miles and delivered ninety-three discourses. 

Having explored and discovered little promise 
for the cause of reformation in the eastern 
States, he turned his attention to the South. 
Already the cause had made remarkable progress 
in Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. Beyond 
the borders of these States but feeble and inef- 
fectual attempts had been made to establish re- 
formatory principles. During a few months' 
tour, he visited the leading cities of the South, 

1 Memoirs, vol. 2, p. 415. 



164 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

everywhere pleading with his accustomed power 
for the restoration of primitive Christianity. 
Of the reception of his plea he writes : 

"My present tour reminds me of those in 
1823-25, when I was widely scattering the seeds 
of reformation in the West. The first princi- 
ples of things — the objections of the captious, 
the scruples of the conscientious, the problems 
of the curious, and the ambushes of the enemies — 
all require and receive a degree of attention. 
We have to dispossess demons, and exorcise un- 
clean spirits, as well as to proclaim the acceptable 
year of the Lord. The chief priests, the scribes 
and the rulers of the people are generally in league 
against us. But there are some more noble than 
in Thessalonica who hear the word with teach- 
ableness." x 

When, after many weary months of trial and 
labor, he again turned his steps homeward, it 
was in no spirit of optimism that he penned his 
conclusions. Sectarianism was strongly in- 
trenched in many quarters, and moral degener- 
acy pervaded religious society. " There is," he 
wrote, " everywhere more of a readiness to re- 
form the creed than the heart, to rectify the 
understanding rather than the affections, and to 
exhibit sound tenets rather than godly lives; 
good works are much more wanting than good 
notions. . . Millions are consumed upon the 

1 Memoirs, Vol. 2, p. 452. 



A WISE MASTER-BUILDER 165 

lusts of men for thousands that are laid up on 
deposit in the Bank of Heaven." x 

Y/hile these tours, involving great labor and 
sacrifice on the part of Mr. Campbell, failed of 
large results, they were connected with an im- 
portant enterprise that now consumed the 
thought and energy of the great leader. They 
had revealed to him the weakness of the cause 
of reformation. It was lack of men competent 
to carry forward the work. In the great conflict 
which fired his heart and brain, he had been com- 
pelled to use such material as presented itself to 
aid in the spread of the Gospel. Those who 
came to his support, were, many of them, un- 
trained men from the farms and shops, who had 
entered the ministry of the Word without prep- 
aration, other than a study of the New Testa- 
ment; and by their narrow and superficial con- 
ception of Christianity, often hindered rather 
than aided the progress of truth. Though 
always the friend of education, he became con- 
vinced, as at no former period of his life, that 
if his cause were to continue to prosper and 
commend itself to thinking people, it must be 
supported by an educated ministry. He, there- 
fore, began seriously to consider the establish- 
ment of an institution where young men could 
secure training which would make them efficient 
advocates of the cause of primitive Christianity, 

1 Memoirs, Vol. 2, p. 462. 



166 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

now so widely spread ; and whose talent, culture 
and acquaintance with the Word would com- 
mand the respect, attention and acceptance of 
the world. 

In the consideration of this problem, as in 
every other subject that came within the grasp 
of his intellect, Mr. Campbell took grounds that 
were far in advance of his times. He regarded 
it as a serious defect of a college training that 
so much time was devoted to the pagan classics, 
to the exclusion of the physical sciences and the 
study of the Christian Scriptures. He con- 
ceived an educational institution in which the 
physical, intellectual, moral and religious con- 
stitution of man would each receive training. 
His system embraced, 1st, A family institution 
under the control of Christian people, where 
lads under fourteen could be brought together, 
and carefully instructed in the facts, precepts 
and promises of the Bible, and trained up in the 
paths of morality and religion. 2nd. A school 
embracing a complete course of preparation for 
college, in which the " formation of moral char- 
acter and the culture of the heart was to be 
made the supreme end/' 3rd. The college for 
which he proposed a liberal course of studies, 
in which the physical sciences should have prom- 
inence. But he argued the importance of such 
instruction, even in classic halls, as would secure 
the development of the moral faculties as indis- 



A WISE MASTER-BUILDER 167 

pensable to correct views of life and society. 
Therefore, the Bible should, he insisted, be made 
one of the regular text-books, no student to be 
entitled to honors without being thoroughly ac- 
quainted with the Sacred Oracles. 4th. The 
church with which the institution was to be con- 
nected, presenting to the young men under its in- 
struction, and to the world, a practical exhibition 
of the truth and excellency of the Gospel of 
Christ. By the employment of such a scheme, 
Mr. Campbell hoped to remedy the errors he had 
witnessed, and build upon the one foundation an 
enduring superstructure of moral and intellect- 
ual excellence. 

In announcing his purpose he said: " Having 
now completed fifty years and on my way to six- 
ty, the greater part of which time I have been 
engaged in literary labors and pursuits, and im- 
agining that I possess some views and attain- 
ments which I can in this way render perma- 
nently useful to this community and posterity, I 
feel in duty bound to offer this project to the 
consideration of all the friends of literature, 
morality and unsectarian Bible Christianity. " 1 

Mr. Campbell's scheme of education being 
heartily approved, not only by his own brethren, 
but by eminent educators of various creeds, 
steps were at once taken to carry out its pro- 
visions. There was but one spot where such 

1 Memoirs, Vol. 2, p. 469. 



168 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

an experiment could be put in successful opera- 
tion, and that was near the mansion of the sage 
whose wisdom and fame would assure it pre-emi- 
nence. A charter was consequently obtained for 
Bethany College during the winter of 1840, and 
a board of trustees selected, who at once chose 
Mr. Campbell president of the institution. 
With his characteristic energy, he immediately 
proceeded to secure buildings and funds, declar- 
ing his readiness to render his services without 
compensation and to invest a few thousand dol- 
lars besides, providing others would take hold 
and assist in building up an institution which 
should be made " a lasting and comprehensive 
blessing." So rapidly was the work prosecuted, 
that by October 21, 1841, the doors of Bethany 
College were opened for students. Mr. Camp- 
bell at once addressed himself to the work of 
training young men in the great principles of 
Divine truth. The sacred volume was made the 
text-book for the whole college, and every morn- 
ing he proceeded to develop before all the stu- 
dents the great facts which it presented. At a 
later period, he was able to say: "From the 
origin of Bethany College till this day, a period 
of over sixteen years, there has been a Bible 
study and a Bible lecture for every college day 
in the college year. The Bible is read as it was 
written, in chronological order, and a lecture on 
every reading is delivered exegetical of its facts 



A WISE MASTER-BUILDER 169 

and documents — historical, chronological, geo- 
graphical — whether they be natural, moral or 
religious, in reference to the past, the present, 
the future of man." 1 

No feature of the institution over which he 
presided gave Mr. Campbell more satisfaction 
than this study of the Bible as one of the 
branches of a liberal education. "A college or 
school," said he, " adapted to the genius of 
human nature — to man as he is and as he must 
hereafter be — cannot be found in Christendom, 
in the absence of a moral education founded 
upon the Bible, and the Bible alone, without the 
admixture of human speculation, or of science 
falsely so-called." But strange as it may seem, 
of the one hundred and more colleges in the 
United States in 1841, Bethany alone had a chair 
of Sacred and Biblical Literature. 

The first half of each college session was 
devoted to the study of the Pentateuch, and the 
last half to the four Gospels and the Acts of the 
Apostles. Mr. Campbell's morning lectures on 
the Pentateuch before the students of Bethany 
College revealed him at his best. Under his 
magic treatment the pages of Holy Writ beamed 
with new meaning, and a new and widespread 
interest was awakened in its study. The great 
motive which prompted him to superadd to his 
already oppressive labors the additional respon- 

l Home Life, p. 61. 



170 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

sibility of Bethany College, was to " magnify the 
value of this book of books, — to enforce its 
claims to authority over the heart and con- 
sciences of men, — to expound its great and eter- 
nal principles of righteousness and truth — and 
to make men feel that it is the word of the liv- 
ing God, the Divine standard of truth in religion 
and of virtue in morality." 

The influence of Bethany College, from the 
very beginning of its history, proved the wisdom 
of its founder. It was soon able to send out 
talented and educated preachers, who gave new 
impetus to the cause of the Reformation, and at 
a critical period in the history of the movement 
saved it from the narrow,sectarian channels into 
which well-meaning but ignorant men would 
have drifted it. Other institutions of learning, 
dominated by the same supreme regard for the 
Word of God, sprang up under the influence of 
the educational spirit which Mr. Campbell's 
wisdom and foresight had created, and already 
the foundation has been laid for the Disciples of 
Christ to take their place in the front rank of 
the world's educators. 

In one respect Mr. Campbell's comprehensive 
scheme of education proved a disappointment. 
It was a cherished notion of his that the best 
results in college education could be attained by 
gathering the youth from their homes, and put- 
ting them under early moral training and 



A WISE MASTER-BUILDER 171 

instruction, preparatory to a college course. To 
carry out his design he erected, at his own 
expense, a large building near the college, where 
the family school could be put in operation. It 
was soon discovered, however, that young boys, 
away from the influence of home and parental 
guardianship, were peculiarly exposed, and fail- 
ing to find persons suitably qualified for the 
management of such a charge, it was reluctantly 
abandoned; though Mr. Campbell still cherished 
the belief that under proper direction his high- 
est hopes might have been attained. 

While immersed in the cares and labors 
attendant upon the inauguration of his great 
educational enterprise, Mr. Campbell was again 
called upon to defend the ground which he had 
taken in another public discussion. 

Already he had proved himself the ablest 
champion of revealed religion in America. 
When Robert Owen challenged the clergy of the 
world, and posted his defiance on the walls of 
our cities, Mr. Campbell met him in a public 
debate, which put a check to his infidel schemes 
in this country. In his debate with Bishop Pur- 
cell, he successfully attacked the arrogant and 
hollow pretensions of Roman Catholicism. In 
this last encounter he was called upon to defend 
the religion of the New Testament against the 
traditions and other baseless tenets of Protest- 
antism. 



172 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 



In the fall of 1842, while on a visit to Ken- 
tucky, Mr. Campbell had received an intimation 
that the Presbyterians of that state were ready 
to furnish a champion in the public discussion 
of the points of difference between them and 
the Disciples of Christ. Mr. Campbell promptly 
declared his readiness to defend his views 
against any of their representative men. Dr. R. 
J. Breckenridge, a man of fine attainments and 
excellent Christian spirit, was looked upon as 
the best representative of the Presbyterian 
cause; but when solicited to engage Mr. Camp- 
bell in debate, he answered: "No sir, I will 
never be Alexander Campbell's opponent. A 
man who has done what he has to defend Chris- 
tianity against infidelity, and to defend Pro- 
testantism against the delusions and usurpations 
of Catholicism, I will never oppose in public 
debate. I esteem him too highly." 1 At length, 
Rev. N. L. Rice was chosen by the Presbyter- 
ians, and after a lengthy correspondence the 
propositions and terms of discussion were 
agreed upon. The ground of debate on this 
occasion had somewhat shifted from that of Mr. 
Campbell's earlier encounters with the Presby- 
terian clergy. It was no longer a contest 
between Baptists and Pedo-baptists, but 
between Reformers, then, as now, called Chris- 
tians or Disciples of Christ, and the religious 

1 MiUennial Harbinger, 1866, p. 200. 



A WISE MASTER-BUILDER 173 

world. The subjects under discussion covered 
the whole range of truth for which the Disciples 
contended. The following propositions were 
finally agreed upon: 

" 1. The immersion in water of a proper sub- 
ject, into the name of the Father, the Son, and 
the Holy Spirit, is the one, only apostolic or 
Christian baptism. Mr. Campbell affirms. 

"2. The infant of a believing parent is a 
scriptural subject of baptism. Mr. Rice affirms. 

"3. Christian baptism is for the remission of 
past sins. Mr. Campbell affirms. 

"4. Baptism is to be administered only by a 
bishop or ordained presbyter. Mr. Rice affirms. 

" 5. In conversion and sanctification, the 
Spirit of God operates on persons only through 
the word of truth. Mr. Campbell affirms. 

"6. Human creeds, as bonds of union and 
communion, are necessarily heretical and schis- 
matical. Mr. Campbell affirms." 1 

In every instance, Mr. Campbell advocated 
and defended the simple requirements of the 
Gospel as he found them in the New Testament, 
against ecclesiastical theories and practices as 
presented by creeds and confessions of faith. 
Lexington was selected as the place of discus- 
sion, and Henry Clay, the great Kentucky orator 
and statesman, was chosen to preside; and here 
for a period of eighteen days, beginning Novem- 

1 Campbell and Rice Debate, p. 47. 



174 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

ber 15, 1843, was waged one of the greatest 
intellectual battles of religious history. 

In some respects this was Mr. Campbell's 
most unsatisfactory effort, in some respects his 
greatest. The difference between the disput- 
ants was marked, both as to their mental char- 
acteristics and modes of warfare. Mr. Camp- 
bell's mind was of that comprehensive type, 
broad in its generalizations, capable of grasping 
at the fundamental principles of the subject 
under consideration, and carrying his point by 
an intellectual momentum that was irresistible 
when launched at his antagonist. Mr. Eice, on 
the other hand, though lacking in Mr. Camp- 
bell's power of thought, possessed an intellect- 
ual agility that was able to parry the thrusts of 
his opponent by grasping at the exceptions and 
hurling them back with effect. As viewed from 
the standpoint of one of Mr. Rice's sympa- 
thizers, " Mr. Campbell was like a heavy, Dutch- 
built man-of-war, carrying many guns of large 
calibre ; while Mr. Rice resembled a daring and 
active Yankee privateer, who contrived, by the 
liveliness of his movements and the ease with 
which he could take up his position for a raking 
fire, to leave his more cumbrous adversary in a 
very crippled condition at the close of the fight." 
Great abilities were displayed by both parties in 
this discussion. While Mr. Rice claimed com- 
plete victory for his side, the ultimate effect of 



A WISE MASTER-BUILDER 175 

the debate upon religious society did not justify 
the claim. A copyright of the printed debate, 
which filled more than nine hundred closely 
printed pages, was purchased by a member of 
the Presbyterian Church, and the volume was 
circulated for a time as a defense of their views. 
But it was soon discovered that its effect upon 
the public mind was quite different from what 
its publisher expected, and that it was making 
many converts to Mr. Campbell's views, and 
none to Mr. Rice's. Consequently the copyright 
was disposed of to a member of the Christian 
Church, under whose auspices it was widely cir- 
culated, and with good effect, in disseminating 
their views. 

Whatever may be said against this mode of 
presenting and defending the truth to-day, it 
was made in Mr. Campbell's hands, and under 
the conditions of society prevailing at that time, 
a powerful instrument in stirring up the spirit 
of earnest investigation. In his attack and 
defeat of the foes of Christianity, he has con- 
tributed in no small measure to the growth of 
respect for the Bible and its institutions. In 
his championship of the cause of Protestantism, 
he presented a much needed check to Catholic 
presumption; while in his advocacy of the 
Bible against creeds and confessions, he has 
rendered invaluable aid to the triumph of the 
simple claims of the Gospel. Thus did he seek 



176 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

to enlarge the Church of Christ into harmonious 
proportion with the Divine foundation upon 
which it was established; and, as a wise master- 
builder, to rear a Temple of Faith, whose 
strength and grandeur should be unsurpassed, 
and whose beauty should be enduring. 



XII. 

THE PEINCE OF PREACHERS. 

\I 7hile much of Mr. Campbell's strength and 
energy was consumed in educational and 
editorial labors, he was first and last and all 
the time a preacher of the Gospel. From the 
moment, when, sitting on the stump of a broken 
mast of a shipwrecked vessel, he dedicated his 
life to the ministry of the Word, to the time 
when he stepped down from the Bethany pulpit 
never to return, on account of the infirmities of 
age, he did not once swerve from his calling. 

Perhaps no point in his career will furnish us 
a better eminence from which to study the char- 
acter and secret of his great power as a preacher, 
than that at which we have now arrived, — his 
fame world-wide, his powers unabated by the 
decay of age. 

Able as a writer, painstaking and inspiring as 
a teacher, he was seen at his best in the pulpit. 
Here as he developed the great themes of Christ 
and Redemption, he never failed to surprise and 
delight all who came under the sound of his 
voice. Here his power was irresistible. Men 

12 (177) 



178 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

who came to criticise, returned to praise. Even 
those most bitterly opposed to his views were 
compelled to bear testimony to his extraordinary 
power as a speaker. Ministers exhorted their 
flocks to refuse him hearing, lest they should be 
swept from their religious moorings by his irre- 
sistible logic. It is not strange, therefore, that 
his friends regarded him with unmixed admira- 
tion, and cherished it as the supreme moment of 
their lives when permitted to sit under the 
charmed influence of his persuasive voice. 

It is impossible to convey to the printed page 
any adequate conception of Mr. Campbell as a 
preacher. He was not a sermon writer, and 
nothing but the barest outlines of a few of his 
sermons have been preserved. But even if we 
now possessed his discourses in full, they would 
fail to reveal the secret of the spell the great 
preacher was able to throw about his auditors. 
There is an element in the public address which, 
like the fragrance of the flower, cannot be pre- 
served. The thoughts remain, but the person- 
ality of the thinker is gone. Our knowledge of 
one whose voice has long been silenced must 
come from those who have felt the power of his 
eloquence; and in Mr. Campbell's case even his 
hearers are removed a generation from us, only 
here and there some veteran remaining who can 
tell us how he preached in the greatness of his 
prime. 



THE PRINCE OF PREACHERS 179 

In the very beginning of his ministry he re- 
vealed a rare power of thought and utterance 
which was prophetic of the commanding posi- 
tion which he speedily attained. He was blessed 
fay nature with an attractive personality. Before 
he uttered a word all eyes were fixed upon him 
with an expectation that was never disappointed. 
He was endowed with a mind of extraordinary 
keenness and grasp, whose furnishing had not 
been neglected, and whose power of memory, 
observation and generalization had been culti- 
vated to a high degree of perfection by long and 
painstaking effort. He had mastered the one 
book which was to furnish the material and in- 
spiration of his preaching. Like Timothy, he 
had known the Holy Scriptures from his youth; 
and like that young disciple, he made it his con- 
stant study to show himself approved unto God, 
rightly dividing the Word. The charm of his 
discourse was multiplied by a rich endowment of 
voice, whose low, musical tones were in keeping 
with the sublime message which fell from the 
lips of the speaker. Back of it all was an in- 
tense earnestness of purpose, which is ever indis- 
pensable to a powerful presentation of the 
Gospel message. He loved the Bible with an 
intense, passionate love. " This," he would say, 
pointing to the Word of God, " is perfect, and I 
fall a martyr ere the profane finger of mortal 
shall smut it or change it." He could say with 



180 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

Paul, u We also believe, therefore we speak." 

His method of presenting the truth was alto- 
gether novel and original. "He thought as no 
other man ever thought, spoke as no other man 
ever spoke, wrote as no other man ever wrote." 
As multitudes dispersed after listening for the 
first time to his presentation of the Gospel 
claims, they were constrained to remark, "We 
never heard it in this like before." 

With his peculiar capacity for generalization, 
he was able to grasp and present the essential 
and vital principles of revelation in wide and 
expanded views. But if the view was sublime in 
its breadth and grandeur, it was nevertheless 
clear and simple in its detail. At a time when 
the authorized clergy were claiming that the 
Scriptures were beyond the power of the ordi- 
nary understanding, Mr. Campbell was demon- 
strating that the simplicity of the Gospel brought 
its truths within the reach of all. At his bidding 
doctrines that had long been obscured by the 
mists of tradition, suddenly emerged from the 
enveloping clouds, like the landscape from 
the morning mists which the rising sun has 
scattered. 

The burden of his discourses was to show 
what the Divine Word says and why it is said. 
Instead of confining himself to the development 
of a single passage, he would sweep the horizon 
of Revelation in his survey, unfolding in its 



THE PRINCE OF PREACHERS 181 

light the lesson of a chapter, a book, or a dis- 
pensation, its meaning illumined and enforced 
by a wealth of scriptural illustration and author- 
ity. After listening for more than two hours to 
one of his discourses on the Epistle to the Gala- 
tians, a Baptist minister, who regarded Mr. 
Campbell with suspicion, was heard to remark, 
" 1 know nothing about him, but be he devil or 
saint, he has thrown more light on that epistle 
and the whole Scriptures than I have heard in 
all the sermons I ever listened to before." 
James Madison, ex-President of the United 
States, after bearing testimony as to Alexander 
Campbell's ability and services in the constitu- 
tional convention of his State, continued: "But 
it is as a theologian that Mr. Campbell must be 
known. It was my privilege to hear him very 
often as a preacher of the Gospel, and I regard 
him as the ablest and most original expounder of 
the Word I have ever heard." 

In manner Mr. Campbell used none of the 
artificial accessories of oratory. " Of the arti- 
ficial," says one intimately acquainted him, " he 
had not one vestige in him. He had it neither 
in his look nor in his talk, in his writing nor 
in anything else. Never was man freer from the 
influence of mere conventionalities." As one 
remarked of him, he had no time to study ges- 
ture and cultivate himself in the graces of ora- 
tory. Life rushed on too fast; so he passed 



182 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

these by and addressed himself to the under- 
standing of his hearers, in the best, most forci- 
ble English he could command. 

Trusting in the power of great truths clearly 
and earnestly presented to produce convic- 
tions, he usually delivered his address without 
movement, or attempt at eloquence. He 
seemed rather to despise oratory as an art, 
always relying on the inherent attractiveness of 
the truths he uttered. His utterances were 
rapid, sometimes too rapid for the listener to 
keep pace with the torrent of ideas that flowed 
on in an endless stream. He usually talked in 
conversational style, with scarcely a gesture 
from the beginning to the end of his discourse. 
But there was a dignity of bearing, a charm of 
manner, a clearness of statement, a force of 
reasoning, a purity of diction, a wealth of learn- 
ing and an earnestness of purpose, which 
" clothed his pulpit efforts with a high degree of 
oratorical excellence." 

He always spoke without notes, but not with- 
out preparation. In his earlier efforts this con- 
sisted in carefully writing and memorizing his 
entire address, but when once he felt confident 
of his powers, he trusted to the fertile resources 
of his great intellect to marshal at his command 
fact and argument and illustration, with which 
to bring the truth home with conviction to the 
hearts of his hearers. When asked how he 



THE PRINCE OF PREACHERS 183 

possessed himself of such a vast store-house of 
information with which he illumined his dis- 
course, he replied, ' ' By studying sixteen hours 
per day." Indeed, his mind seemed never to 
have been released from the great theme to 
which he had devoted his life. Whether in the 
study, or behind the plow, or on his way to some 
distant appointment, or within the charmed cir- 
cle about his own fireside, his mind dwelt upon 
the mysteries of redeeming love. " Many a 
piece of a day he spent wandering beside his 
winding Buffalo, or clambering over its neigh- 
boring woody slopes. Here often seated on a 
log, or perched like a wild mountain bird on 
some lone rock, he would pass unconscious 
hours deep wrapped in thought, or searching 
the meaning of some dark text in his Greek 
Testament." Thus was forged and polished 
the weapon which he wielded with terrible effect 
against the enemies of his Lord. 

As a preacher, he rose above environment in 
his enthusiasm for the truth. He seemed un- 
touched by those circumstances which inspire 
other speakers to their loftiest flights. There 
were no great occasions in his life, because all 
occasions were to him equally great. It did not 
matter whether he spoke to a dozy congregation 
of half a hundred in the backwoods, or ad- 
dressed an assembly of orators and statesmen in 
the halls of legislation, he was sure to rise to a 



184 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

height that was the wonder and the admiration 
of all who heard. In either case it was not the 
praise of men that he sought, but the approval 
of Him whose servant he was. 

At a period when the ministers of religion 
were distinguished by clerical airs, clerical voice, 
clerical manners, clerical dress, Mr. Campbell 
appeared in refreshing contrast, which doubtless 
gave an added charm to his address. There was 
nothing of the clergyman about him. " Nature 
had not made him one, and he could never as- 
sume the character. It is but just to add that 
he never tried. His religion was a religion of 
principle, of conviction. In it was nothing con- 
ventional. Hence he never impressed the world 
as trying to seem clerical. He had neither cleri- 
cal airs, nor a clerical gait. He neither walked 
like one, nor talked like one, and as he never 
seemed to be one, few people, not knowing him, 
ever suspected him for one." * 

His place and power as a preacher has been 
assigned with discrimination by D. S. Burnett, in 
an address delivered before the students of 
Bethany College shortly after the close of Mr. 
Campbell's career. He says : 

" Mr. Campbell was a remarkable preacher. 
Not an orator, such as Whitfield, Summerfield, 
or the Irish Kirwan. He had not the voice, 
gesture or pathos of either of them. He could 

1 Lard's Quarterly, Vol. 3, p. 257. 



THE PRINCE OF PREACHERS 185 

not, like them, raise a storm and quell it at 
will; and yet he would draw a large congrega- 
tion, hold them longer, and leave them furn- 
ished with much more comprehensive views of 
truth and duty. He spoke more sensibly, more 
rhetorically, and more scripturally than either 
of them, and his work on earth will abide 
longer. We can imagine few more pleasure- 
able sights than this grand preacher, delivering 
an extempore discourse, while supporting him- 
self, enfeebled by dyspepsia, on his cane, in the 
midst of the largest and most intellectual audi- 
ences our country could afford. Thus he stood, 
like Paul on Mars' Hill, among the orators and 
statesmen of Kentucky, at an early day, in the 
largest hall of Lexington ; thus he entranced the 
elite of Richmond in 1830, and of Nashville 
shortly after; thus, shortly before that, he held 
spell-bound for two hours the Legislature of 
Ohio, before breakfast ready to depart; it was 
thus, in 1833, he addressed, with great power, 
the skeptics of New York, two successive even- 
ings, in their own Tammany Hall, with such 
suavity as to draw praise from every lip and 
secure a vote of thanks from the men whose air- 
built castle he demolished. These speeches 
flowed from his lips like the water from the rock 
smitten by the prophet, and the people felt, like 
famished Israel as they drank the cooling 
draught, that a hand of power had relieved their 



186 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

thirst. All were charmed with the man and 
impressed with the majesty of the Scriptures." 1 

To this should be added the following testi- 
mony of Dr. Richardson, his life-long friend and 
biographer: 

"For the first few moments, indeed, the 
hearer might contemplate his commanding form, 
his perfect self-possession, and quiet dignity of 
manner, or admire the clear and silvery tones of 
his voice, but those emphatic tones soon filled 
his mind with other thoughts. New revelations 
of truth ; themes the most familiar invested with 
a strange importance, as unexpected and yet 
obvious relations were developed in a few sim- 
ple sentences; unthought of combinations; un- 
foreseen conclusions; a range of vision that 
seemed to embrace the universe, and to glance at 
pleasure into all its varied departments, — were 
as by some magic power presented to the hearer, 
and so as to wholly engross his perception and 
his understanding. While that voice was heard 
nothing could dissolve the charm." 2 

Like the preacher described in Dryden's lines, 

" With eloquence innate his tongue was arm'd, 
Though harsh the precept, yet the preacher charm'd ; 
For letting down the golden chain from high, 
He drew his audience upward to the sky. 
He bore his great commission in his look, 
And sweetly temper'd awe, and soften'd all he spoke." 

1 Millennial Harbinger, 1866, p. 317. 
2 Memoirs, vol. 2, p. 583. 



THE PRINCE OF PREACHERS 187 

It will thus be observed that Mr. Campbell 
possessed a power all his own. If it lacked in 
some of the graces of oratory, it was, neverthe- 
less, adapted to the times and place he was 
providentially called to fill. Vast audiences 
were chained by it for hours, forgetful of every- 
thing but the message. So wrapt was the atten- 
tion that at the close of an address of two or 
three hours' length, his congregations were 
often surprised and disappointed when he an- 
nounced his conclusion, thinking that he had 
only spoken a few minutes. Men who once 
heard him never forgot the peculiar exaltation 
experienced while under the spell of his elo- 
quence. Said one who in his youth had listened 
to a discourse delivered by Mr. Campbell on the 
Hebrew letter: " It has been forty years since I 
heard that discourse, but it is as vivid in my 
memory, I think, as when I first heard it." In 
listening to him, all not only felt that they were 
in the presence of a great man, but that the 
message which he was delivering bore an indis- 
pensable relation to their well-being. 



XIII. 

TEAVELS AT HOME AND ABROAD. 

\~X 7ith the weight of increasing years and of 
increasing cares, Mr. Campbell had hoped 
to find release from the pain of protracted ab- 
sence from home. He longed to spend his 
remaining years within the quiet of his own 
beloved Bethany, and in the development of the 
college which he looked upon as the crowning 
work of his life. 

This fond dream was not to be realized. The 
burden of securing buildings, equipments and 
endowment for the new college rested upon him. 
While friends were ready to contribute to its 
support, so great was the desire of the public to 
see and hear him, that they made a visit from 
Mr. Campbell the condition of their donations 
to the funds of the college. In addition, there- 
fore, to his labors as editor and instructor, he 
was compelled to make extended tours that took 
him through all sections of the country, and in 
which he was everywhere received with open 
arms by admiring multitudes. A great change 
had taken place in public sentiment since those 

early days when he stood alone as the represen- 
ts; 



TRAVELS AT HOME AND ABROAD 189 

tative of an unpopular cause. Papers that then 
had sought his defamation, now treated him 
with respect and consideration. Cities and legis- 
lative halls received him as an honored guest, 
and sought from him a public expression of his 
views. Everywhere he was treated with a con- 
sideration due his distinguished ability. In 
these tours he did much to strengthen the hearts 
of the brethren and set in order the things that 
were lacking. 

In the winter of 1843, Mr. Campbell visited 
the large cities of the East in the interests of 
the college, securing valuable contributions in 
money and scientific apparatus. But the South, 
in some respects, presented the most fruitful 
field at that time. Its own lack of educational 
facilities led it to seek for its young men the 
advantages of Northern institutions of learning. 
Its large fortunes, accumulated by means of 
remunerative slave labor, were dispensed with 
somewhat lavish hand on any educational system 
which would not endanger its own institution of 
slavery. It, therefore, happened that Mr. Camp- 
bell was encouraged to make repeated visits 
among the scattered and wealthy disciples of the 
Southern States, in canvassing for funds to build 
and enlarge Bethany College. 

It was during these tours through the South 
that Mr. Campbell became personally acquainted 
with the evils of American slavery, and formu- 



190 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

lated for himself a course, which, in the light of 
our new birth of freedom, can hardly be justi- 
fied. While recognizing and acknowledging the 
evil of this system which had fastened itself on 
a large section of our country, he was slow to 
recognize the righteousness of the cause of 
emancipation. While an anti-slavery man him- 
self, he felt that the Bible under certain condi- 
tions justified slavery, and with him the author- 
ity of the Word of God was final on any question. 
While Wendell Philips was thundering his phil- 
ippics against this stronghold of injustice, Mr. 
Campbell was penning his convictions for the 
columns of the Harbinger, declaring: "1. That 
the relation of master and servant is not in itself 
sinful or immoral. 2. That, nevertheless, slav- 
ery, as practiced in any part of the civilized 
world, is inexpedient, because not in harmony 
with the spirit of the age, nor the moral 
advancement of society. ... 3. That no 
Christian community, governed by the Bible, 
Old Testament and New, can constitutionally 
and rightfully make the simple relation of mas- 
ter and slave a term of Christian fellowship." 1 

Before we pronounce judgment against Mr. 
Campbell for his apparent indifference to the 
sufferings of four millions of bondsmen, let us 
remember that he kept company with the great 
thinkers and teachers of the Christian denomi- 

1 Millennial Harbinger, 1845, p. 263. 



TRAVELS AT HOME AND ABROAD 191 

nations at that time. The Rev. Wilbur Fisk, 
the leader of New England Methodism, declared 
that "the general rule of Christianity not only 
permits, but in supposable circumstances enjoins 
a continuance of the master's authority." Dr. 
Way land, the distinguished president of Brown 
University and leader of the Baptist hosts, 
taught that "the people of the North are in such 
relation to the people of the South that they 
ought not to agitate the question of slavery, and 
that it would be an act of bad faith for Congress 
to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia." 
S. Irenseus Prime declared in the New York 
Observer, as late as 1858, that the suppression of 
anti-slavery sentiment in the American Tract 
Society was " the greatest moral victory of truth 
over error achieved since the reformation of 
Martin Luther." Thus the various parties of 
religious society " wide apart as the poles, and 
swearing prayers at one another on other points, 
were cordially at one on this." 

It is perhaps in some respects unjust to the 
memory of Mr. Campbell to associate his name 
with this company. For he recognized the evils 
of slavery and believed that it should give way 
before the growing spirit of humanity and the 
moral advancement of society. But his call 
from God was not the breaking of the temporal 
shackles of an enslaved race, but the spiritual 
emancipation of an enslaved world. With a few 



192 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

passing observations, therefore, upon the ques- 
tion which was agitating the public mind, he 
turned his mind to the completion of the task 
that for more than a quarter of a century had 
consumed his energies, allowing that no element 
of discord should interfere with the re-establish- 
ment of the primitive Gospel among men. His 
conservatism involved him, as we shall soon see, 
in no little trouble; but it is perhaps due to his 
course that, in those days of conflict that rent 
asunder great ecclesiastical bodies, there was no 
Christian Church North and Christian Church 
South, but one Christian Church both North and 
South. 

So favorably had the cause progressed at 
home under his wise direction, that in 1847 he 
felt justified in gratifying the long-cherished de- 
sire of revisiting his native land. Though nearly 
forty years had elapsed since he had left the 
island that gave him birth, he was by no means 
a stranger to the English speaking people be- 
yond the Atlantic. The "Christian Baptist " 
and his published debates had already preceded 
him, and had not been without recognition and 
fruit in many sections of Great Britain. 
Churches, reproducing the essential features of 
the Christian churches in America, had sprung 
up in many quarters of England and Scotland. 
Pressing invitations, which now came to him 
from these churches, assuring him of a cordial 



TRAVELS AT HOME AND ABROAD 193 

reception, induced him to undertake the jour- 
ney, which, but for an unfortunate circumstance, 
would have marked the happiest period of his 
life. From the day he landed at Liverpool he 
was constantly engaged in addressing large 
assemblies, and both in public and private ex- 
plaining his religious tenets to interested lis- 
teners. In Liverpool Mr. Campbell was per- 
mitted to speak in a large hall, built by the fol- 
lowers of his former antagonist in debate, Rob- 
ert Owen, for the promotion of infidelity, but 
then used for the defense and advancement of 
the Christianity it had been built to overthrow. 
In London he spoke frequently, once addressing 
a gathering of skeptics on the inspiration of the 
Christian Scriptures. Here he availed himself 
of the courtesies shown him by Mr. Bancroft, 
the American Minister, and other men of dis- 
tinction, to see and hear the celebrities of the 
metropolis, in Parliament and church, and to 
visit her palaces and places of interest. While 
he saw much that pleased and charmed him, his 
heart went back to the quiet and comforts of 
his own sequestered home. In a letter to his 
daughter Clarinda, at the close of his London 
visit, he writes: 

"Meantime 1 sigh for repose, and often think 
of the hills around Bethany, and of the enviable 
lot of those I left behind me, compared to that 
of the millions through which I am passing in 



194 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

this Old World of palaces and hovels, of princes 
and beggars, of exuberant wealth and cheerless 
poverty. May the Lord in his mercy watch over 
your native country and long preserve it from 
the vices and follies which have entailed on 
France, on England, and on Europe an inherit- 
ance of miseries and misfortunes, from which 
the wisdom of politicians and the benevolence 
of Christians cannot rescue them for generations 
to come." 1 

A hasty visit to Paris, which he viewed with 
mingled feelings of astonishment and disgust, 
as he witnessed unrivaled splendor on the one 
hand, and beheld the most degrading religious 
mummeries on the other; a brief call at Cam- 
bridge and Oxford, those ancient and splendid 
seats of learning, which possessed for him an 
absorbing interest; a short sojourn at Man- 
chester, with its mighty industries and wretched 
operatives, — he continued his journey into Scot- 
land without interruption or discomfort, temper- 
ing his holiday by an almost continuous sermon, 
in public or in private, upon the great theme of 
human redemption. 

In Scotland, as in the earlier years of his 
labors at home, he became the victim of no little 
annoyance and persecution. Upon his arrival at 
Edinburgh he was involved in an unfortunate 
controversy with a local anti-slavery society, 

1 Memoirs, vol. 2, p. 549. 



TRAVELS AT HOME AND ABROAD 195 

which gave a pretext to religious bigotry and led 
to some unhappy consequences. A few minis- 
ters, animated by dislike for his religious views, 
and fearing to engage him in open discussion, 
sought, as a means of weakening his influence, 
to excite against him public odium. As it was 
known that he was from Virginia, a slave State, 
nothing seemed so well suited to their purpose 
as to turn the anti-slavery sentiment of Scotland 
against him. A committee, under the guise of 
friendly visitors, waited upon him. To them he 
candidly stated the views which we have already 
discovered him to have held, making no con- 
cealment of his disapproval of the course pur- 
sued by abolitionists in Great Britain and Amer- 
ica. In a few hours after this visit the city was 
billed with placards in large capitals, which ran 
as follows: 

"Citizens of Edinburgh — Beware! Beware! 
The Eev. Alexander Campbell of Virginia, Uni- 
ted States of America, has been a slaveholder 
himself, and is still a defender of manstealers! " 

Not satisfied with this attempt to check the 
growing influence of Mr. Campbell in Scotland, 
Rev. James Robertson, the leader of the crusade 
which was now inaugurated against him, chal- 
lenged him to debate his position in regard to 
slavery. Having no time for oral debate, Mr. 
Campbell had to content himself by refuting the 
calumnious charges that were made against him 



193 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

in a public address, giving in full his views on 
the subject of American slavery, and hastened 
on to fulfill his engagements in other cities. 
The manner in which he was treated by the 
Scotch Anti-Slavery Society may be gathered 
from the following, published in the leading 
journal of Paisley, where he was announced to 
speak : 

" We beg to warn our readers against counte- 
nancing a Eev. or Mr. A. Campbell, of Virginia, 
U. S., who has announced a course of lectures 
in the Baptist chapel here. He is the apologist 
of man-stealing in its worst form — the advocate 
of all that is monstrous in that most monstrous 
of all systems — American slavery ! . . . Let 
the liberty-loving, slavery-despising people of 
Paisley repel from their precincts w r ith the scowl 
of their worst displeasure, the apologist of 
American murderers, and let them show that 
they despise the advocate of man-stealing all the 
more because he comes clothed in the garb of 
sanctity." 1 

Finding himself pursued by misrepresentation 
and abuse at every turn, Mr. Campbell at last 
addressed a letter to the "Edinburgh Journal," 
consenting to an oral discussion of his position 
in regard to American slavery with anyone whom 
the Anti-Slavery Society might appoint, agreeing 
to meet " even Mr. Robertson himself, provided 

IMill. Harb., 1848, p. 50. 



TRAVELS AT HOME AND ABROAD 197 

only that he were not that Kev. James Robert- 
son (there being three ministers of that name in 
Edinburgh) who was publicly censured and ex- 
cluded from the Baptist Church for violating the 
fifth commandment, with reference to his 
mother." 

Continuing his tour through Scotland, he 
found himself once more on the streets of Glas- 
gow, where as a young man he had spent one of 
the happiest years of his life. He had left the 
University nearly forty years before, an unknown 
student, and a radical religious dissenter, going 
out from his religious home in the bosom of 
Presbyterianism, and like Abraham, " not know- 
ing whither he went." Upon his return to these 
old scenes he was honored as the leader of a 
great religious movement, and constant demand 
was made upon him to hear more of the doctrine 
which he preached. While in the midst of these 
pleasant and profitable experiences, a warrant 
was served upon him at the instance of Rev. 
James Robertson, to prevent him from leaving 
Scotland, and claiming damages to the amount 
of five thousand pounds for alleged defamation 
of character. Pending his trial Mr. Campbell 
was offered his liberty on furnishing security for 
two hundred pounds. Friends rushed to his 
relief with the desired amount, which he 
promptly refused, choosing to go to prison until 
his cause could be heard and his arrest proved 



198 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

unwarranted and illegal. "I felt myself, " he 
writes, "persecuted for righteousness' sake, and 
I could not find in my heart to buy myself off 
from imprisonment by tendering the required 
security. I thought it might be of great value 
to the cause of my Master if I should give my- 
self into the hands of my persecutors, and thus 
give them an opportunity of showing their love 
of liberty, of truth, of righteousness by the 
treatment of myself in the relations I sustain to 
mankind as a Christian and a Christian teacher." 

For ten days he suffered the inconvenience 
and hardships of imprisonment. Though cast 
down, he was not forsaken, for friends vied with 
each other in ministering to his comfort, and let- 
ters poured in upon him from everywhere, ex- 
pressing the kindliest sympathy. As soon as the 
matter could be brought before the court he was 
acquitted of the charge made against him, and 
permitted to continue his tour. But his friends, 
not satisfied to have the matter drop with his 
release from jail, brought suit against his chief 
persecutor for false imprisonment, and secured 
a judgment of ten thousand dollars in Mr. Camp- 
bell's favor, to avoid the payment of which Mr. 
Robertson thought proper to abscond; though 
with characteristic magnanimity Mr. Campbell 
had declared beforehand that should damages 
be awarded him he would not accept them. 

After a tour through Ireland, shortened by 



TRAVELS AT HOME AND ABROAD 199 

the delays of his imprisonment, Mr. Campbell 
again turned his face homeward, "arriving at Bos- 
ton on Oct. 19, 1847. His reflections upon near- 
ing the shore of the land of his adoption he thus 
records: u We can desire for ourselves no bet- 
ter political or temporal birthright or inheritance 
than we now possess, and we can pray for no 
greater honors or privileges of this world for any 
living people, greater or better than those guar- 
anteed by our institution to every American citi- 
zen. May we act worthy of them! " 

The joy which he experienced at home-coming, 
after an absence of several months, was speedily 
turned into sorrow by the announcement of the 
death of his second son, Wickliffe, a promising 
lad of ten, by drowning; but, as upon other 
occasions, he met affliction with a resignation 
and fortitude that attested the power of his 
religious convictions. He reverently submitted 
to the will of God, declaring: " He is too wise 
to err, and too kind causelessly to afflict the 
children of men." 

His return from abroad was marked by re- 
newal of zeal and effort in behalf of Bethany 
College. From editorial labors and college 
duties he frequently tore himself away, and took 
extended tours among his friends to secure 
funds to establish Bethany on a permanent basis. 
These pilgrimages had, notwithstanding the 
fatigue they occasioned, come to be numbered 



200 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

among the pleasant experiences of his life, for 
everywhere he was meeting old friends, who had 
shared with him the labors and odium of inaugu- 
rating and defending an unpopular movement. 
In the winter of 1849 he revisited Kentucky, 
where he was cheered and encouraged at every 
turn by the old veterans who had supported him 
and the cause of reformation in the days of small 
things. Thus the stages of his journey were 
punctuated by pleasant evenings with John T. 
Johnson, John A. Gano, John Smith, John 
Eodgers, Walter Scott, L. L. Pinkerton, and 
others by whose talents and energy the move- 
ment had been made popular throughout the 
State. \ 

In the spring of 1850, while in the vicinity of 
Washington, D. C, he received a pressing invi- 
tation from both Houses of Congress to deliver 
an address in the Capitol on the second of June. 
It is doubtful if such a scene has ever been wit- 
nessed in our National Capitol before or since. 
The House of Eepresentatives was filled to over- 
flowing. Here, after a hymn and prayer, Mr. 
Campbell was introduced, and addressed the 
assembly from John 3:17, "exhibiting the 
divine philanthropy in contrast with patriotism 
and human friendship, reasoning in a grand and 
masterly manner from creation, providence, 
divine legislation, and human redemption, and 
holding the audience in the most fixed attention 



TRAVELS AT HOME AND ABROAD 201 

during the time of the address, which occupied 
an hour and a half." 

Near the close of this busy year Mr. Campbell 
wrote, " I have recently returned from a tour of 
forty days to Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, dur- 
ing which I traveled over sixteen hundred miles 
and delivered some thirty-eight discourses, be- 
sides as many long conversations. Fatigued, 
exhausted, worn out, I feel like one that has vio- 
lated the first commandment of human nature, — 
self-preservation. Before this, after one week's 
stay at home, I had been to New York and East 
twenty-four days, traveled fourteen hundred 
miles, and made some eight discourses, — in all 
sixty-four days, three thousand miles and forty- 
six discourses." 1 

Never was father more devoted to the child of 
his old age, than was Mr. Campbell to the insti- 
tution of learning which he planted and fostered 
as the last achievement of his fruitful life. 
" Bethany College," he wrote, " has paramount 
claims on me and on all the friends of the cause 
to which I have consecrated my life. To further 
it abroad and build it up at home, in raising up 
men for the field when I shall be absent from 
this planet, seems to me a paramount duty. 
We have already in the field some of its first- 
fruits, and they are an offering most acceptable 
to the aggregate of all who hear them. We 

1 Memoirs, vol. 2, p. 591. 



202 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

want a thousand men in the field of the world, 
and another thousand in the vineyard of the 
Lord, preachers worthy of the Gospel and of 
the age, and teachers worthy of the Bible and of 
the church." In seeking these results he con- 
tinued his journey. 



XIV. 

THE BETHANY HOME. 

A study of Alexander Campbell would be in- 
complete which did not introduce the reader 
to that charmed circle that gathered around the 
fireside at the Bethany mansion, with Mr. Camp- 
bell as its central figure; and at no period was 
it more inviting than in the halcyon days of life's 
autumn at which we have now arrived, and just 
before the gloom of winter hdxl thrown its mel- 
ancholy over the scene. For fifty years and 
more this home on the Buffalo, far away from 
the great marts of trade and centers of litera- 
ture and fashion, was the moral center of the 
movement of which its distinguished occupant 
was the exponent. 

The inner life of all noted men will not bear 
inspection. Magnanimous, chivalrous, generous 
in their public capacity, wife and children have 
found little to admire or respect or enjoy in their 
domestic relations. The lion of the arena has 
degenerated into the bear of the fireside, and 
home and family have felt the withering blight 
of an unlovely and unsympathetic nature. But 
this was not true of the home of Alexander 
Campbell. It reflected a warmth and a radiance 

(203) 



204 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

that set off his religious sincerity in a charming 
light, and revealed the tenderer side of his 
nature. 

Men who knew him only through his essays in 
the " Christian Baptist," or the reputation given 
him by his religious enemies, were surprised by 
the geniality of his nature in social intercourse, 
and prejudice and resentment melted away as 
they met him face to face, as the winter's snows 
before the advancing season. 

Those who knew Mr. Campbell best unite in 
their praise of the peculiar charm of his fireside 
fellowship. His hospitality was unbounded and 
administered with a f reeness and familiarity that 
at once put his guests at their ease. As his field 
of influence broadened, and his fame spread 
through the surrounding States, his home was 
seldom without visitors, and the family meal 
seldom eaten alone. They came from every 
quarter to praise or to blame, to seek the truth 
or defend error, and all were cordially received 
and entertained with princely grace. These oc- 
casions were always made in some way to serve 
the cause to which he had devoted his energies; 
and the early advocates of the cause of reforma- 
tion were won, not so much by his masterly dis- 
courses, as by friendly intercourse, in which his 
matchless conversational powers were irresisti- 
ble. It is related that one afternoon two Bap- 
tist ministers, who had ridden on horseback 



THE BETHANY HOME 205 

more than a day's journey, drew up their horses 
before his house. They had learned of him 
through his debate with Walker, and came to 
hear from him more of the work of reform which 
he was inaugurating. A cordial welcome was ex* 
tended to them, and after tea a conversation, or, 
rather, monologue, for it was Mr. Campbell that 
did the talking, began, which continued through 
the entire night, and ended in winning them as 
firm friends and efficient champions of the move- 
ment to restore the primitive faith. 

He was a gifted conversationalist, and nowhere 
was that gift displayed to greater advantage than 
at his own fireside. One who often sat under its 
spell has thus written: "In conversation he 
expended, perhaps, more true strength than in 
the pulpit discourse. Possessed of a strong 
social nature, and gifted with rare conversational 
powers, his delighted visitors hung for hours on 
the wisdom and eloquence of his lips. We do 
not compare him with Johnson or Coleridge, who 
as conversationalists won so great a fame. Mr. 
Campbell conversed on different themes and to 
a widely different circle of hearers. But we 
doubt if any of his age excelled him in capacity 
to charm and instruct in the social circle. Per- 
haps more prejudice was dissipated and more 
adherents were gained, in these daily conversa- 
tions, than in his best pulpit efforts/' 1 
1 Early History of the Disciples in the Western Reserve, p. 49. 



206 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

Such was the charm of his manner, and the 
wisdom of his utterance, that on his tours about 
the country, wherever he might sojourn for 
the night, throngs would collect to hear him 
talk. "Nobody wished to talk in his presence. 
His themes were so much out of the range of 
ordinary conversation that but few people could 
sustain a part in their discussion. A question 
would sometimes set him a-going, but very soon 
his vast learning, especially in the department of 
Biblical lore, would lead him into wide fields of 
discourse, all familiar and easy to him, but 
strange and unknown to his hearers; and it was 
their pleasure [to sit in silence and learn." No 
matter what the theme of conversation when he 
entered the circle, or who the company, sooner 
or later, by the power of his superior genius, all 
would be hushed into silence while he talked of 
the love and mercy of God as manifested in the 
Gospel. 

In spite of his great labors, managing an ex- 
tensive farm with a skill that rivaled his neigh- 
bors; writing, editing and publishing magazines 
and books that are still a living force in society ; 
teaching and training young men in a manner 
that made him unrivaled as an educator, and 
attending with regularity to his pulpit ministra- 
tions, tvhere he unfolded the splendors of his 
great mind, the prince of preachers, — in spite of 
all these and other burdensome duties, he always 



THE BETHANY HOME 207 

found leisure to entertain his guests. His man- 
ner was always characterized by such an appar- 
ent freedom from preoccupation that one would 
have little suspected the immense business con- 
stantly resting upon him. Visitors were wel- 
comed with unstudied courtesy, and at once put 
at ease with his hearty greetings and genial 
pleasantry. But whatever the occasion of their 
coming, none were permitted to leave his pres- 
ence without feeling the impress of some great 
scriptural truth which was at the time resting 
upon his heart. 

One cannot but wonder how the dispenser of 
such hospitality could carry on the extensive 
labors that demanded his attention. Nothing 
but the capacity for intense application and an 
economical distribution of time, could have made 
it possible. From youth he had trained himself 
in early rising. In this way he was able, in the 
midst of the constant demands of daily inter- 
course, to appropriate hours of time that were 
free from interruption, and when his mind was 
fresh and would quickly respond to the task set 
it to perform. I cannot do better than quote 
the eminent Dr. Richardson's description of his 
usual manner of employing his time when at 
home: 

"His habit of rising very early, usually at 
three o'clock, gave him much valuable time well 
suited for composition, and at the hour when the 



208 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

house-bell rang for morning worship, he would 
come over from his study, having prepared, 
often, enough manuscript to keep his printers 
busy during the day. When breakfast was over, 
after arranging the affairs of the morning and 
kindly seeing off any parting visitors, he would 
call for a horse, or set off on foot, perhaps 
accompanied by some of his friends, to view the 
progress of the printing or the farming opera- 
tions and give instructions to his workmen. 
Delighting greatly in agriculture and its collat- 
eral pursuits, he was familiar with all their 
details, and while ever eager to gain new 
thoughts from others, the most skillful farmers 
and breeders of stock often found in his com- 
pany that they had themselves something yet to 
learn. 

' 'After dinner he usually spent a little time in 
correcting proof sheets, which he often read 
aloud if persons were present; and then he 
would perhaps have a promised visit to pay to 
one of the neighboring families in company with 
his wife or some of the guests. Otherwise he 
would often spend some hours in his study, if 
engaged on any imporant theme, or occupy him- 
self in his portico or parlor in reading or con- 
versation." 1 

But it was after the labors of the day had 
ended and the hush and quiet of evening had 

1 Memoirs, Vol. 2, p. 300. 



THE BETHANY HOME 209 

gathered round, that the Bethany home pre- 
sented its most charming aspect. Let another 
who often shared its rich spiritual delights de- 
scribe the scene: "At nightfall he collected his 
family in his homely parlor, and arranged them 
in order around the room. Each then read a 
verse, he reading with the rest. In this reading 
every soul in his house was expected to take part, 
from the Indian boy 1 of the wild prairies of the 
West, to the elegant guest of his hospitable 
home. The chapter for the evening being read, 
a song was usually sung, when all bowed in the 
presence of God. His prayers were usually long, 
inimitably reverential and chaste. At times 
they were broad and grand. All this was re- 
peated in the morning. In the intervals in the 
social circle, Christ and the Gospel were the 
never-ending themes of his conversation. On 
these he never flagged himself, nor wearied his 
delighted hearers. These conversations were 
often relieved by bursts of eloquence, which 
even his finest flights in the pulpit never sur- 
passed. Yet his manner was as easy and nat- 
ural as that of a child." 2 

It will be seen from this picture that the same 
religious atmosphere in which he had been nur- 
tured from childhood pervaded his home. No 

1 Mr. Campbell, out of sympathy for the Indian race, ob- 
tained a boy of the Iowa tribe, and kept him several years in 
his family, giving him every advantage of secular and 
religious instruction. 

2 Lard's Quarterly, Vol. 3, p. 265. 



210 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

matter how busy the day or how urgent the 
claims upon his time, he always had time for 
morning and evening devotions with his family 
and guests. 

Nothing was more beautiful than Mr. Camp- 
bell's devotion to his family. Whether at home 
or abroad, wife and children were always the 
objects of his solicitous care. Following the 
bereavement which overtook him in 1827 in the 
death of his companion, he was married to Miss 
Selina Bakewell, who continued to maintain the 
reputation of Bethany mansion, and who, after 
a companionship of nearly forty years, lingered 
by the fireside, hallowed by his memory, until 
recently summoned to join him on the other 
shore, at the extreme age of 95. Often was he 
called to pass under the rod of affliction in the 
loss of those whom God had given him. In 
referring to his bereavements in the "Harbinger" 
of 1848, Mr. Campbell writes: "How strange, 
and yet how mournfully pleasing, the thought 
that of the fourteen children given to me, nine 
of them are now present with the Lord ! Three 
of them died, never having sinned in their own 
persons. And as by Adam the first they died, 
by Adam the second they shall live in the Lord. 
Six of them died in faith and rejoiced in the 
hope of a glorious immortality. This, to us, 
their survivors, is a sovereign balm, a blest 
relief. Though dead to us, they live with God." 



THE BETHANY HOME 211 

Often as these afflictions came to cast their 
shadow across his hearthstone, they never for a 
moment crushed out his inner joy and confidence 
in God. 

His correspondence during the long journeys 
that often took him from home, breathe a pure 
and exalted spirit of paternal solicitude and 
devotion. During his tour in the State of New 
York, in 1836, he wrote to his wife and daugh- 
ters : 

"Dearly Beloved: Next to my own personal 
and eternal salvation through my Lord and Sav- 
iour, there is nothing on earth dearer to me than 
your present, spiritual and eternal good. I wish 
you to be intelligent, pure and influential on 
earth, loving and beloved as far as mortals like 
you can be; be ornaments to the Kingdom of 
Jesus Christ, respectful and respected, honor- 
able and honored, good and happy as my wife 
and daughters ought to be. On you all God has 
bestowed good mental capacities, powers of 
acquiring and communicating knowledge, fine 
feeling and many excellencies capable of much 
improvement and of rendering you very useful 
in society. Now let me say to you that you are 
thereby under great responsibilities, and let me 
remind you that you all seek to be more intelli- 
gent, more amiable and more exemplary every 
day. I do not say this as though I did not think 



212 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

you as much so now as any of my wide and 
extended acquaintances, but because I wish you 
to be of unrivaled excellence." 1 

A deep tone of religiousness, as in his conver- 
sation, pervades his correspondence. His eye 
was always raised above the common things of 
earth " as seeing Him who is invisible." Tender, 
affectionate, congenial in his nature, he never 
hesitated to yield the peaceful enjoyments of the 
fireside when his Master needed his service else- 
where. In a letter to his wife, written from 
Saratoga, he says : 

"To one who so much loves his wife and his 
children, and the whole family circle, and de- 
lights in making them happy, it is not an easy 
task to forsake them all for so long a time, but 
when I think of Him who forsook the Palace of 
the Universe and the glory of his Father's court, 
and condescended to be born of a woman and to 
live in an unfriendly world, and to be treated a 
thousand times worse than I have ever been, to 
save us from our sins, I think but little of all I 
have done or can do to republish his salvation 
and to call sinners to reformation, and to build 
up the cause of life, of ancient Christianity." 2 

Later, from the far away South, comes the 
same longing for home, chastened and subdued 
by the certain prospect of a heavenly abiding 
place. From New Orleans, in 1857, he writes: 

l Memoirs, Vol. 2, p. 412. 2 ibid, Vol. 2, p. 417. 



THE BETHANY HOME 213 

" I am still more attached to home the farther I 
am from it. There is no place on earth to me 
like it. But we have no continuing city here, 
and should always act with that conviction. We 
should feel that, wherever we are and whatever 
we do, we are on our journey home. There is 
nothing beneath the home of God that can fill 
the human heart, and that should ever rule and 
guide and comfort us. ... I do not think I 
will ever again undertake so large a journey, or 
expose myself to so much labor and privation as 
I am now subjected to. Still, so long as I can 
do good at home or abroad, it is my duty to do 
it. I miss your company more than any priva- 
tion I have to endure. Still, where and when 
duty calls, it is my wish to obey and deny myself. 
That same Eye that has watched over us both, 
and guided and guarded us through life, will, I 
humbly trust, guard and guide us to the end of 
life's weary journey." 1 

How beautifully the grand nature of Alexan- 
der Campbell is set off by these simple touches 
of sympathy and affection! His was not the 
greatness that repels, that dwells serenely on 
the mountain-top away from his fellows, but the 
greatness that descends into the valley to help, 
to encourage our suffering race, and that draws 
them to himself that he may lead them to Christ. 

l Memoirs, Vol. 2, p. 628. 



XV. 

CLOSING LABORS. 

/^ur survey of the life-work of Alexander 
^^ Campbell has brought us to an age when 
most men crave rest and release from burden- 
some duties; but his life was so inseparably 
linked with the fortunes of the movement he 
had inaugurated, that he found it impossible to 
retire to the quiet shades of his Bethany, as he 
longed to do. Large demand continued to be 
made upon his time and energies, in the develop- 
ment and encouragement of the great brother- 
hood as, in a peculiar sense, their leader in the 
work of religious reformation. So, notwithstand- 
ing the weight of increasing years, he continued 
incessantly to labor for the promotion of the 
cause that had already consumed the best years 
of his life. 

Through the monthly numbers of the "Mil- 
lennial Harbinger," he continued to preach to 
increasing thousands, unfolding the great plan 
of human redemption in all its details, with a 
richness and power that remain unrivaled in the 
achievements of religious journalism; but which, 
in his own judgment, came so far short of the 

sublime reality, that when, at length, he laid 

(214) 



CLOSING LABORS 215 

down his pen, it was with the confession: 
"There is a fullness of joy, a fullness of glory 
and a fullness of blessedness, of which no living 
man, however enlightened, however enlarged, 
however gifted, ever found or entertained one 
adequate conception." 

As the storm of his fierce conflict with sectar- 
ianism subsided, he turned his attention to the 
enlargement of the vision and purposes of those 
who looked to him for instruction and guidance. 

The student who turns from the " Christian 
Baptist " to the " Millennial Harbinger " will be 
surprised at Mr. Campbell's apparent change 
of attitude respecting modern agencies employed 
in the dissemination of truth. In the former, 
missionary societies, Sunday-schools, and even 
Bible societies, come in for his severest criticism 
and condemnation. In the latter he becomes 
the friend and champion of each, recognizing 
them as most efficient and essential factors in 
the conversion of the world. His early opposi- 
tion to missionary and other auxiliaries of the 
church, had never, in fact, sprung from objection 
to method, but because he believed that the 
methods, when employed by sectarian zeal, in- 
creased the hold of religious error on society and 
contributed to the confusion of mankind. " To 
convert the heathen," says he, " to the popular 
Christianity of these times would be an object of 
no great consequence, as the popular Christians 



216 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

themselves, for the most part, require to be 
converted to the Christianity of the New Testa- 
ment." But as he witnessed the growth of a 
new society pledged to the restoration of the 
primitive faith, he at once realized that if his 
followers were to occupy a place of permanence 
and power in the religious world, it would be by 
the cultivation of a zealous missionary spirit and 
a practical acceptance of the great commission 
in its broadest significance. No sooner, there- 
fore, had the work of establishing the movement 
been fairly inaugurated, than he began to urge 
the importance of co-operation in world-wide 
missions. Under Mr. Campbell's fostering care, 
in 1849, the American Christian Missionary 
Society was organized at Cincinnati, and he was 
at once chosen as its president, a position which 
he held until the close of his life. With him an 
interest in the conversion of mankind was in- 
separably linked with a true apprehension of the 
Gospel of Christ. 

" The missionary institution," said he, "is the 
genuine product of the philanthropy of God our 
Savior. It is the natural offspring of Almighty 
love shed abroad in the human heart; and, 
therefore, in the direct ratio of every Christian's 
love he is possessed of a missionary spirit" 

These obligations it was his constant delight 
to enforce. The key-note of his later essays and 
addresses is contained in the following extract 



CLOSING- LABORS 217 

from his annual address before the Christian 
Missionary Society in 1853: 

" This missionary enterprise is, by universal 
concession, as well as by the oracles of God, the 
grand work of the ages, the grand duty, privilege 
and honor of the church of the nineteenth cen- 
tury. God has by his providence opened up the 
way for us. He has given us learning, science, 
wealth and knowledge of the condition of the 
living world, — of the pagan nations, their lan- 
guages, customs, rites and usages. He has given 
us the earth, with all its seas, lakes, rivers and 
harbors. He has, in the arts and improvements 
of the age, almost annihilated distance and time, 
and by our trade and commerce we have, in his 
providence, arrested the attention and com- 
manded the respect of all heathen lands, of all 
creeds and of all customs. Our national flag 
floats in every breeze; our nation and our lan- 
guage command the respect, almost the homage, 
of all the nations and peoples on earth. God 
has opened the way for us, — a door which no 
man or nation can shut. Have we not, then, as 
a people, a special call, a loud call, a divine call, 
to harness ourselves for the work, the great 
work, — the greatest work of man,— the preach- 
ing of the Gospel of eternal life to a world dead, 
spiritually dead, in trespasses and sins? " * 

The breadth of Mr. Campbell's sympathies in 

1 Popular Addresses, p. 522. 



218 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

the work of evangelization he thus expresses: 
" We are encouraged to liaise an ensign, to estab- 
lish a mission, and to invite to our Zion the 
frozen Icelander and the sunburned Moor, the 
Indian and the Negro, the Patagonian and the 
nations of the isles of the ocean." 

From the halls of Bethany College he con- 
tinued, from year to year, to send out an army 
of young men, trained and equipped to carry 
forward the work which he had so auspiciously 
begun. His hope of the ultimate success of the 
reformation was, as we have seen, in an educat- 
ed ministry. In the accomplishment of this re- 
sult, the closing years of his life were largely 
spent in the interests of the institution he had 
founded, an institution devoted to the study of 
God's Word as well as letters. We have seen 
something of the tirelessness with which he pur- 
sued his purpose, traveling up and down the 
country in the heat of summer and the cold of 
winter, — at times cheered by the hearty and 
generous response that met his solicitation, 
again all but cast down by the illiberality of 
others. At last, after many years of toil and 
travel, he felt that the goal was almost reached. 
On a December evening he sat in that congenial 
circle that gathered around the Bethany fireside, 
feeling that his labors had largely been com- 
pleted, and that there remained for him a well 
earned repose, released from the wearing toils 



CLOSING LABORS 219 

that had consumed his over-crowded years. But 
in this he was destined to disappointment. An 
unforeseen calamity befell his beloved Bethany, 
that for a moment seemed to dash his hopes and 
paralyze his energies. On the morning of Dec. 
10, 1857, the college buildings were laid in 
ashes. The achievement of many years of labor 
was in ruins, the dream of a life-time dashed to 
the ground. 

Many men at Mr. Campbell's age would have 
given up in despair, or turned the work of re- 
building over to stronger hands. But his great 
soul soon rose above the discouraging surround- 
ings, and regathering his courage he started out 
again, taking up his tireless journey for funds to 
rebuild the institution. In setting out upon this 
mission, Mr. Campbell declared: " Nothing but 
the absolute necessity which seems to be laid 
upon me by the burning of our college building, 
libraries, apparatus, etc., could induce me at 
this season and at my time of life, with the 
many pressing demands calling for my presence 
at home, to undertake the arduous labors which 
are now placed before me. If I did not feel that 
it is the Lord's work, and that he will be my 
helper, I would shrink from the task. I some- 
times feel like asking to be relieved from further 
services, but it seems I cannot hope to rest from 
my labors till I am called also to rest with my 



220 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

fathers. Such as they are, or may be, therefore, 
all my days shall be given to the Lord." 1 

With a herculean effort, and after weary 
months of travel and solicitation, Mr. Campbell 
was enabled to witness, in the summer of 1858, 
the laying of the corner-stone of the present 
beautiful structure, having secured a sufficient 
sum to assure its completion. In his efforts to 
increase the resources and influence of the col- 
lege, he then continued to labor until the gath- 
ering of the war cloud in sixty-one rendered 
further effort for the time useless. 

In the meantime his pen was always busy. 
Awake to the dangers of society, interested in 
whatever offered to contribute to human happi- 
ness, his sympathy went out in every movement 
that would bless his fellowmen and lead them 
nearer the cross. The Evangelical Alliance, 
organized for the promotion of union and fellow- 
ship among churches, met his hearty approval. 
He regarded it as another step toward the reali- 
zation of his dream of a united Christendom, 
and hailed it as the herald of a better era. The 
temperance cause, which had begun to absorb a 
larger share of attention, received his sanction 
and support. He believed in using all resources 
in disarming this monster of iniquity, and looked 
upon prohibition as the only effective remedy 
for this prolific and manifold evil. 
1 Memoirs, Vol. 2, p. 533 



CLOSING- LABORS 221 

The enforced retirement which age and the 
throes of our great civil war placed upon him, 
was spent, while strength would permit, in liter- 
ary pursuits. At the urgent request of an 
admiring public, he gathered together his ad- 
dresses upon various literary, social and religious 
topics, and published them in a large volume 
entitled, "Popular Lectures and Addresses. " 
These had been delivered at college commence- 
ments, before literary societies, and in lyceum 
courses, and represent Mr. Campbell in his best 
style. They are models of classic English, rich 
in diction, profound in thought, and religious in 
tone. His latest literary effort, and one that sad- 
ly reflects the decline of his intellectual powers, 
was a volume to the memory of his father, pub- 
lished in 1861. The tribute which he here sought 
to pay to the character and worth of Thomas 
Campbell was deserved. It was through his 
father's fearless loyalty to a high purpose that 
Mr. Campbell found a field prepared for the 
exercise of his great gifts. Under Thomas 
Campbell's tuition, the first lessons in the sub- 
lime doctrines of Christian unity were taught, 
which it was the province of his illustrious son 
to apply in the organization and development of 
a great brotherhood, whose chief aim should be 
the effectual reunion of all Christ's followers 
under one banner. " The Life of Thomas Camp- 



222 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

bell" was a grateful recognition of his inval- 
uable contribution to this cause. 

One by one those who stood about the reform- 
er in the heat of his religious battles were now 
being called from their labors. Thomas Camp- 
bell, Barton W. Stone, John T. Johnson, 
William Hayden and Walter Scott, staunch 
and tried friends, had preceded him to their 
reward. He, almost alone, survived of that 
generation of men who had endured the toil and 
hardship of the planting; and he, no longer the 
physical and intellectual giant that had endured 
the fatigue of an unpopular cause and com- 
manded the admiration of friend and foe alike, 
awaited the summons of the Master. Body and 
mind were gradually giving way. Two events 
seem to have hastened the breakdown of his 
overtaxed powers. One was the sudden death 
of his favorite son, Wickliffe, a blow which he 
accepted with Christian resignation, but from 
the effects of which he never entirely rallied. 
The other was the overtaxing labor of translat- 
ing the Acts of the Apostles for a new version of 
the Scriptures brought out by the American 
Bible Union. Before the last, added to his in- 
cessant labors along other lines, " he staggered, 
then he fell, no more to rise to the height of his 
former power." 

One by one he was compelled to relinquish his 
labors. Early in 1865, after having served as 



CLOSING LABORS 223 

editor of the " Millennial Harbinger" for thirty- 
five years, he surrendered his position to younger 
and stronger hands. In the autumn of that 
year he entered the pulpit for the last time,* 
preaching with unwonted unction and power, 
electrifying his audience with the beauty of his 
thought and the earnestness of its presentation. 
His opening message, delivered more than half a 
century earlier, declaring and defending the 
claims of the Word, had been prophetic of his 
triumphant defense of the sole authority of the 
Scriptures. His closing message, dwelling in 
eloquent terms upon "the spiritual blessings in 
heavenly places in Christ," was likewise pro- 
phetic of the change that awaited him. " Do 
you think," said he, as he was about to step 
down from the pulpit on this occasion, " do you 
think, that there is any standstill point in 
heaven? No; the soul is ever onward, thirsting 
for the fountains of righteousness that make glad 
the city of our God." In this hope he calmly 
and serenely awaited the summons. 

The close was befitting the character and life- 
work of this great man. Death had no terrors 
to him. It was a birth into the better life beyond. 
Gradually his strength failed. When no longer 
able to quit his room or his bed, friends gathered 
around, cheered by the expressions of heavenly 
trust that were constantly escaping his lips. 
Only a week before his death, on Sunday after- 



224 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

noon, while many sat by his bedside, he spoke to 
them for more than three hours in most eloquent 
words, at times with all the grandeur and vigor 
of his prime. A letter dated from his bed- 
chamber by one who watched in the gathering 
shadows which death was throwing about him, 
reveals the greatness of his passing spirit: 

" His gentleness and patience mid his suffer- 
ing break all our hearts. Such sweetness and 
submission to the slightest wish of others around 
him. — such kind consideration for every one who 
comes into his presence, — his little expressions 
of greeting, and his inquiry after the welfare of 
those who come to see him, and such putting 
away of personal complaint or suffering, move 
every beholder to tears. All this could never be 
seen in a character less great and grand than his. 
He is himself noble and good and great, as 
nature made him, to the very last. The com- 
manding and fascinating elements of his char- 
acter are intact in the midst of the wreck of 
matter. Such passages of Scripture as he has 
recited, even in his wanderings, and such grand 
sentences as have fallen from his lips-— such 
beautiful soliloquies upon the ' fleetness of 
time,' and upon ' doing good while we can,' etc., 
are wonderful, very wonderful to us all." 1 

As the end drew near, with Christian assur- 
ance his companion said to him: "The blessed 

lMill. Harb., 1866, p. 207. 



CLOSING LABORS 225 

Savior will go with you through the valley of the 
shadow of death." Looking earnestly into her 
face, he said with great effort, "That he will! 
that he will." These were his last words. As 
the hour of midnight approached, on Sunday, 
March 4, 1866, his spirit took its flight, leaving 
behind as his heritage to mankind a plea for the 
reunion of Christ's people upon the principles of 
his revealed Gospel. 



XVI. 

HIS PLACE IN HISTORY. 

T come now to the more difficult part of my 
task, the estimate of the man. There are 
two standards of measurement upon which that 
estimate may be formed, — his impress upon his 
own times, and his influence upon future gener- 
ations. Measured by either standard, Alexander 
Campbell was an extraordinary man. 

Few men have ever lived to witness larger 
returns from their labors than he. While he 
lived in advance of the religious thought of his 
age, he was, nevertheless, able to interpret the 
heavenly vision that burst upon his soul with 
such simplicity, and with such cogency of rea- 
son, that the humblest thinker, who was willing 
to listen to his message, became convinced of 
its correctness. In this respect his experience 
differed from that of other men, who, like him, 
have stood upon the mount of vision, but have 
been suffered to end their existence in solitary 
grandeur; uncared for and unappreciated by 
the men to whom their message was delivered, 
and to whose sacrifice and service future gener- 
ations have been left to render tardy justice. 

(226) 



HIS PLACE IN HISTORY 227 

Alexander Campbell, on the other hand, was 
happy from the very beginning in the fellowship 
of kindred spirits; and after the first storm of 
abuse and misrepresentation which assailed him, 
gradually grew in favor with his own times, and 
was permitted to enjoy a goodly degree of re- 
spect and appreciation even from those who dif- 
fered with him most widely. 

The secret of his popularity is not difficult to 
discover. To an attractive personality was 
added the charm of spiritual nobility. He bore 
the stamp of moral and intellectual integrity, 
which is the spring of human greatness. Men 
who met him in social intercourse, or heard him 
in public address, were impressed with his sin- 
cerity and admired his frankness. His attempt 
to deal fairly and candidly with those who dif- 
fered with him was one of his marked charac- 
teristics, even in the heat of public debate. 

Another prominent and distinguishing trait 
was his reverence for God and sacred things. 
Before the majesty of the Son of God, he ever 
bowed in deepest humility and holiest adoration. 
"I noticed while a student at Bethany College," 
writes one of his admirers, "that Mr. Camp- 
bell, in time of public worship, if he himself 
was not in the pulpit conducting the services, 
always knelt during prayer. He never stood. 
He literally 'bowed his knees to the Father of 
our Lord Jesus Christ.' He was pre-eminently 



228 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

a religious man, pious, spiritual and devout at 
all times. Many, judging from his debates and 
writings of controversial character, might sup- 
pose that he lacked piety, spirituality and pr ay- 
erf ulness; but personal acquaintance with hirq 
always reproved such supposition. His faith 
made him happy. He rejoiced in — being a 
Christian." 1 

But the most conspicuous element of great- 
ness in Mr. Campbell, and the one which ral- 
lied admiring multitudes about him, was the 
greatness of his intellect. In resources of mind 
he was unrivaled, and he looked the intellectual 
giant that he was every inch. As he one day 
walked the streets of London, a stranger, im- 
pressed by his commanding presence, was heard 
to remark: " There goes a man who has brains 
enough to govern all Europe." The following 
picture, from the pen of Moses E. Lard, is not 
overdrawn : 

" His head I think the finest I ever saw. It 
was simply faultless. After the first look you 
never criticised it; you only admired it. You 
dwelt on it only to wonder how magnificently 
nature sometimes works. His head never disap- 
pointed you. No matter with reference to what 
you studied it, it always complemented your 
highest expectations. Was it the abode of a 
mind of extraordinary strength? Every con- 

1 Millennial Harbinger, 1866, p. 205, 



HIS PLACE IN HISTORY 229 

formation of it answered, yes. Was it filled with 
a soul of profound religious devotion? The 
answer was the same. Did it betoken that its 
occupant was marred by any dangerous or un- 
lovely eccentricities? Not one. Every point, 
angle and curve on it revealed that nice adjust- 
ment of faculty to faculty which renders great- 
ness safe, and assigns to it its true position in 
the lead of earth's great beneficent changes. On 
once looking on that large, finely-turned head, 
you never feared to trust it more." 1 

Thus endowed by nature and education, Mr. 
Campbell's unselfish devotion to truth and his 
able defense of that which he found revealed in 
the Word of God, speedily made him the popu- 
lar idol of that class who were longing to see the 
restoration of Mary's Son to a throne high above 
councils and creeds. His mission was that of a 
truth-seeker, rather than the advocate of a doc- 
trine. In this pursuit his religious life was 
marked by constant change and development. 
We have seen how even in youth his spirit 
chafed under the creed-system, in which he had 
been conscientiously reared; how his restless 
nature determined upon an independent search 
after the wisdom of God, first throwing off the 
yoke to all humanly devised systems; how his 
pathway, in the light of the revealed will of God, 
gradually led him to the adoption of new prac- 

1 Lard's Quarterly, Vol. 3, p. 256. 



230 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

tices and customs, until he found himself with- 
out a place in any organized religious society; 
and how, at last, the creed and practice of the 
primitive church revealed to him the only course 
which he could conscientiously and consistently 
pursue. 

In his protest against religious error, he was 
not simply a reformer, he was more than a 
reformer. Instead of trying to put a new piece 
of cloth into the old, wornout garment of theol- 
ogy, he cast it aside altogether for one which, 
though ancient, was without rent, and as strong 
and beautiful as when first wrought out by the 
hand of God. Instead of reformation he at- 
tempted restoration, — to replant in the fertile 
soil of the nineteenth century the church of the 
first century. The system to which he was thus 
led to give his influence, was in no sense the 
creation of his genius. The only genius he ever 
claimed was that of discovery, and even in this 
he made no original discoveries. " The truth 
which he discovered had already been revealed, 
and lay imbedded in the sacred page." 

Even after the plea for the restoration of 
primitive Christianity had fully taken possession 
of his heart, he continued to advance along 
many lines of Christian progress. At first he 
seemed in danger of missing the warmth and 
spirit of the Gospel message, and of falling into 
a narrow, legalistic groove that would have 



HIS PLACE IN HISTORY 231 

checked the progress of truth and defeated the 
very object he sought to accomplish. His antag- 
onism to Sunday schools, missionary societies, a 
settled ministry, etc., which marked the early 
stages of the movement, threatened for a time 
to limit its growth. But in its later develop- 
ment these came in for his most cordial sympa- 
thy and support. 

When the zenith of his life had been reached, 
Mr. Campbell's attitude toward all lines of 
moral and religious progress was such as to win 
for him the highest praise of all who were 
acquainted with his untiring service. I cannot 
better summarize the impression which he made 
upon his own times than by quoting from the 
pen of Geo. D. Prentice, the talented editor, a 
half century ago, of the Louisville Journal: 

"Alexander Campbell is unquestionably one 
of the most extraordinary men of our time. 
Putting wholly out of view his tenets, with 
which we of course have nothing to do, he 
claims, by virtue of his intrinsic qualities as 
manifested in his achievements, a place among 
the very foremost spirits of the age. His en- 
ergy, self-reliance and self-fidelity, if we may use 
the expression, are of the stamp that belongs 
only to the world's first leaders in thought or 
action. His personal excellence is certainly 
without a stain or a shadow. His intellect, it is 
scarcely too much to say, is among the cleanest, 



232 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

richest, profoundest ever vouchsafed to man. 
Indeed, it seems to us that in the faculty of 
abstract thinking — in, so to say, the sphere of 
pure thought — he has few if any living rivals. 
Every cultivated person of the slightest meta- 
physical turn, who has heard Alexander Camp- 
bell in the pulpit or in the social circle, must 
have been impressed by the wonderful facility 
with which his faculties move in the highest 
planes of thought. Ultimate facts stand forth 
as boldly in his consciousness as sensations do in 
that of most other men. He grasps and han- 
dles the highest, subtlest, most comprehensive 
principles as if they were the liveliest impressions 
of the senses. No poet's soul is more crowded 
with imagery than his is with the ripest forms of 
thought. Surely the life of a man thus excel- 
lent and gifted is a part of the common treasure 
of society. In his essential character he belongs 
to no sect or party, but to the world," 1 

What will be the ultimate effect of Alexander 
Campbell's life-work upon religious society, can 
only be conjectured from what has already been 
achieved. Though less than the third of a cen- 
tury has passed since he ceased from earthly 
labors, the permanent benefit of his gift to re- 
ligious thought is generously conceded. The 
little church at Brush Eun, over which Mr. 
Campbell was the presiding genius, has grown 

1 Memoirs, Vol. 2, p. 639. 



HIS PLACE IN HISTORY 233 

into a great Christian brotherhood, more than a 
million strong, with a score or more of educa- 
tional institutions, with a current literature 
second to none, with mission stations encircling 
the globe. But these facts and figures, remark- 
able as they appear, are among the least of the 
results that have followed the labors of this 
man. A much larger religious circle, while not 
consenting to accept his leadership, are adopt- 
ing many of the principles for which he so vigor- 
ously contended, and are working out along 
kindred lines the great problems that consumed 
his energies. The awakening spirit of religious 
unity, the slackening of party cords, the grow- 
ing indifference to the claims of creeds, and the 
increasing regard for the message of Christ and 
his apostles, — these are but the widening circles 
of a wave set in motion by this sturdy champion 
of the primitive Faith. 

It is yet perhaps too soon to assign Mr. Camp- 
bell his proper place among the world's religious 
leaders. A figure so colossal can only be rightly 
estimated when viewed through the perspective 
of advancing generations. Shall his name be 
placed along with those of the other great 
reformers, Luther, Wickliffe, Calvin and Wes- 
ley, or shall he be placed among stars of lesser 
magnitude? Time alone will answer. But in 
view of the achievements that have already been 
wrought out through his influence, we believe 



234 ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 

that when the final roll-call has been read, it 
will be found that to Alexander Campbell has 
been assigned no secondary place among the 
heroes who have contributed to the world-wide 
conquest of the race to the standard of the 
Cross. 






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